Golden Dreams
by Arhani 'Hanny' Daforcena
Summary: When Hakkai meets a powerful Goddess in his dreams during the last legs of the Sanzo-ikkou's westward journey, what does it mean? He feels a strange connection to her, although he cannot remember her. HakkaiXOC. Non-yaoi. Gaiden-related. Rnr!
1. Spirit

She came to him as if she had been a dream of gold, when he had closed his eyes at night, and arrived in a field of black roses without thorns when he opened them. Under the light of the stars, her white skin seemed to be made of marble, absorbing the starlight, her golden hair slowly blowing in the slight breeze. Those eyes, those eyes so blue and dark, he deemed them to be of sapphire hue, and he knew that there was nothing more beautiful than she could be, not even _her_, the one he had shed so much blood for. He had never seen her before in life, but her presence; it was so familiar to him, as if he had known her from a time long forgotten.

In her hand, was a sword, or more accurately, a katana, in a saya covered with white snakeskin…? Smiling radiantly, she unsheathed her katana and pointed it at him, as if challenging him to a duel, but she made no such motion. Backing away from him, she stretched her right leg parallel to her upright body, before letting it fall a little below her graceful shoulders. From that, he knew, that she was about to dance.

When she snapped her fingers, little balls of light seemed to emerge from the black roses, floating around her, surrounding her as she started to dance. It was nothing sensual, but a sight of pure beauty. There was a sense of elegance and grace in her countenance, the glimmer of an artist showing pride in her art. As she danced with her katana in her hand, her smile was ever-present, and it intoxicated him.

Suddenly, she stopped, and walked to what seemed to be a spot that she had known. "Dance with me," she told him, throwing another katana to him, which he had caught with his superior reflexes. He was about to tell her that he did not dance, but something within him betrayed him, and he unsheathed it, joining her in mere seconds, mirroring her movements, as if he had known the steps all along.

The balls of light seemed to have multiplied ever since he joined her, their movements in the field casting shadows onto the opposite field, making them seem as they had been dancing amongst perfect, spherical drops of rain. His mind froze at that moment, and he had forgotten everything, everything except breathing, her, and their dance.

She was wearing silk, that much he noted, when their bodies brushed against one another's, during the many "scandalous" moments allowed by the dance. It felt smooth against his skin, and when he held her hand in his, he felt the exact same thing. Her gown had been cut to showcase her best assets, which were concavities and convexities that would make other women in the world scorn her because of their perfection. Her voice, it was akin to the tinkling of a silver bell in the mountains, on a crisp spring day, her laughter clearer than any sound that he had heard.

"It has been a long time," she told him when their dance ended, and they sat down in the field. The balls of light had already returned into the wombs of the roses, with only the almost-full moon as their only source of light. It would be full the next night. Still, she was smiling, and she gave him a dagger, which she pressed into his hands.

He unsheathed the dagger and found it to be made of a particularly strange material that he could not name. It was not silver, yet it glittered like it, nor was it steel, but something stronger. And the most curious part was that there were emeralds on the blade, from the base to its tip, like green stars upon a silver sky. He looked up at her in confusion, unknowing what to say, or what to do with it. He had no use for weapons in combat; his Ki was enough to do the job needed. Even when situations became dire, all he needed to do were to remove three little objects on his ear…

With her sapphire eyes, she scanned him and sheathed the dagger. "You gave me this once before," she said, her tone of voice reminiscent of an event long past. "You said that Heaven was going to be a dangerous place, and gave me this. I never saw you since…"

Heaven? He had fought Gods before, but he had no memory of that place at all. How did she know him, and from where? Perhaps she must have thought that he was someone that looked like him… But her presence, her scent of roses and wine, her smile, it was all too familiar to him… "These are emeralds, because you said that my own eyes looked like them," he continued her sentence, wondering why he said those words seconds later.

Once again, she smiled in recognition. However, she stood up and bowed. "You have moved on, indeed," she said, her sapphire eyes filled with a sort of sad melancholy, and acknowledgement. "But do not fear, dear one, I am not heartbroken… The bonds of the soul between a man and the men he deems as brothers are always stronger than the love that he has for a woman… it has always been that way."

Something stirred within him, something so deeply felt that he immediately stood and held her in his arms. "Forgive me," he said, gently fisting her straight locks of hair. Her body, it fit so perfectly with his, and he could tell that she was of no small stature, being almost as tall as he was. "I have no memory of you, but…"

She put her finger on his lips, hushing him. "Please, do not think any more of this," she told him, kissing his cheek slightly before moving from his embrace. "I will have to go soon, and you will have to awaken from this dream. We both cannot live in the distant past forever."

With that, he opened his eyes.

* * *

Cho Hakkai could never understand why he woke up the next morning with a dagger in his hands, a dagger that he had seen only in his dream. Could it be, that what he had seen last night was real? Hiding the dagger before anyone noticed it, he quickly changed and dressed, before the other three did. Experience told him that it would be wise not to fight for the bathroom with Sanzo, Gojyo and Goku if they were pressed for time.

Breakfast was a rowdy affair, as all meals were, with Goku and Gojyo fighting over the slightest portion of food. Life, was as usual, and Hakkai was inwardly thankful for it. Feeding Hakuryu little scraps of meat from the mountain of dishes that they had ordered, he smiled as the little creature chirped thankfully. It was strange that such an adorable creature could transfigure into a trusty mode of transportation, but all four of them had encountered many strange things throughout their travels.

After breakfast, they continued to travel against the sun until it caught up with them, teasing them with its vibrant colored rays of purples, pinks and oranges as dusk approached slowly. They were driving across meadow after meadow, and it was certain that they would have to camp out that night. The next town was still many miles away.

"Hey, look!" Goku suddenly cried, before the sun's last rays disappeared. They had come to a meadow between two green hills, filled with scores upon scores of black roses. Hakkai was shocked to no end, that the scenery from his dream had just materialized before his own eyes. The others, just took it as the surprise that followed the sight of such beauty.

Gojyo, with his mouth agape, exclaimed, "Well, whaddaya know, black roses do exist!" He was so struck by the roses that he forgot to light the cigarette in his mouth, while Sanzo was so taken that he did not come out with any smart retort. Even the great Sanzo Houshi-sama knows that black roses were almost an anomaly of nature, unheard and unknown of. But even a man as cold and scarred as he, knew that beauty of this magnitude was not to be wasted.

That night, they camped in the meadow, careful not to endanger the roses in any way possible, and were rewarded. Just like in Hakkai's dream, the roses spouted balls of white light which danced across the skies, the roses themselves, swaying as if they were dancing as well. No one had ever seen a sight like this at all, and all four of them were silent, taking their fill of the experience.

"Hey, did you see the lights last night?"

"Yeah, it must be the roses again. They are beautiful, aren't they?"

"My grandson was born just as the lights appeared, our family will be in for a great amount of luck!"

Voices could be heard exchanging tales of the lights and the roses in the next village the Sanzo-ikkou came to the next afternoon. Everywhere they turned, everywhere they went, it was the same. Hakkai just had to know what was going on. He had to know why only that place had black roses, and why they were able to create dancing lights. And so, he asked the friendly woman with a pretty face, the receptionist of the inn they were staying at for the night, no less, to Gojyo's chagrin.

"Oh, aren't the lights beautiful?" she replied. "You know, since you're tourists, I might as well tell you the legend behind Black Rose Meadow…"

The woman told them of how 500 years ago, a Marshal of the Heavenly Army fell in love with a goddess in Heaven, the sister of a Dragon-King, a Dragon-Princess herself. Her hair was the color of the finest gold bars, and her eyes of the brightest sapphires. Whenever the Marshal needed to descend from Heaven to restore order upon the living world, her worry and anguish for her beloved turned into a black rose with no thorns. But when Heaven itself was in turmoil, the Marshal was wrongly accused of treason, and was killed fighting against the gods he once served without question, for reasons unknown. He had given the Dragon-Princess a dagger to protect herself with before that, but he never came back to her to tell her that it was a gift to plight their troth to her brother, his superior.

"The light is said to be the tears of the Dragon-Princess," the woman said, reaching the end of the tale. "And every night when the moon is full, they will dance because she is reminded that the last time she had seen her Marshal, was in the night of a full moon."

Such a sad ending to an otherwise beautiful tale… What was once utter magnificence and majesty, was reduced to nothing but a bittersweet memory… Hakkai felt the dagger carefully concealed in the fabric worn across his torso, and felt its cold presence close to him… She had been his beloved, in a past life that he could not remember.

Thus, he walks alone to the temple of the Dragon King, whose sculpture stood tall and proud. He had scales on the side of his face, his skin ashen, and his eyes red like the color of blood. However, he could see hers right beside that of her brother's, holding a black rose in her white hands. Her skin was like that in his dream, smooth like porcelain and marble.

"Many men like you have admired the likeness of the Goddess Ryurei, the Dragon-Princess," said the keeper of the Temple. "But none, even the Gods have ever earned that look of love that she has for her Marshal."

Hakkai smiled, and feigned the unknown guilt and regret gnawing inside him. "Grandfather, can you please tell me, who was this Marshal?"

The keeper brushed his fingers through his long beard and said, "Many people have forgotten this part of the tale, but my grandfather still remembered it, it was Tenpo Gensui."

The name did not strike anything to Hakkai. The land of the living does not take records of the deeds of the Gods, it was just not done. But when he was sure that nobody was there, he left the dagger at her feet, but not before giving it a slight kiss.

"I may not be able to remember you, Princess Ryurei," he spoke quietly to the silent statue, "But I shall return this dagger to you. The man who left you, he must have loved you dearly, but he had to stand by what he believed in… I am sure that given the chance, he would do everything to see you again."

As he left, he heard one of the people burning incense exclaim, "Look, Goddess Ryurei's statue is shedding tears!" Before a commotion was formed, Hakkai had already left, and soon, word reached that someone had returned the Goddess a gift from her beloved…

"You look more relaxed now," Sanzo said to Hakkai when he returned to their lodging for the night. "What happened?"

That insufferable monk was always so sharp, Hakkai grumbled in his head, his frustrations hidden by his usual, cheerful smile. "Well, some fresh air always helps…"

"See that it remains that way," Sanzo gruffly replied. "Sometimes, it's better to put the past where it belongs, Hakkai. Don't let it get to you… too much."

As always, even if he was infuriating, Sanzo was always right. That much, Hakkai knew. The past, was always the past, and he should be looking towards the future.

* * *

_The Dragon-King Gojun looked at __the soldier, Tenpo Gensui. As brilliant as he was, as much of a genius he was, he could never imagine that he would fall for his little sister, Ryurei. Even more surprising was that his love was returned. Ryurei had been acting… strangely ever since she had met with the handsome warrior-god._

"_If you wish to court my sister, the rules are simple," he told the other man. "Prove to me that you are a man worthy of __her and that you would be able to create a future filled with light for her." That man soon rose highly in the ranks of his Western Army, and was soon made a Marshal, however… eccentric he was._

_Not many in Heaven knew of their romance, but those in the lower realms often found them frolicking amidst fields of roses of every hue… His sister was the goddess responsible for flowering plants of the lower realms, after all…_

_But, he could never have known that his future brother in law would encounter such a fate, following the death of Nataku Taishi. He had chosen death, and even though he died, his soul ever exiled to the realms below, never to be reborn a God, Ryurei said nothing, although her smile had diminished, and she danced with her katana no longer. _

_The roses in the heavens blossomed no longer, but in the lower realms, they blossomed even more fairer than they ever had in Heaven… "Do you think that he would ever remember you, Ryurei?" he asked his sister. As much as he knew, the God who was Tenpo Gensui was now a youkai known as Cho Hakkai, who had formally been a human being who had killed one thousand youkai, and was cursed to become one. He was travelling to Tenjiku with three other Youkai, one of them, the Seiten-Taisen, Son Goku, and the other, Sha Gojyo, formerly Kenren Taisho. Their apparent leader, Genjyo Sanzo, was Konzen Douji… He found it ironic, that all four of them were together again, but his sister had to watch them from above, far away from them._

"_Onii-sama, you need not worry about me," she told him. "He does, and will not remember anything. Its better this way… I am but a lost page of his past. His future will be brighter. We will meet again, one day. I'm sure of it."

* * *

_Playlist:

Dream scene: Lothlorien, Fellowship of the Ring OST.

Hakkai in Temple and Flashback: Evenstar, The Two Towers OST


	2. Dragons

_The Dragon-King Gojun loves his sister dearly. One of those reasons because they were almost the last of their clan in Heaven, scions of a once proud race that time had forgotten, and he had to protect her. The other, would be most simply because she was his sister. Whenever he was troubled, or he needed an ear, she would always be there for him. That was why, when he did not kill the soldier that had so boldly asked permission to court her before him, knowing very well that he was the leader of the Heavenly Western Army._

_"How did you come to know Ryurei?" he asked Tenpou Gensui, then, the man was still an initiate in the army, more or less a Sergeant. It was a private question to be asked of a subordinate, but he was still Ryurei's brother, her only family now. He had to know, well, because Ryurei did not divulge anything to him at all. He did not even know that she even knew of his existence._

_The soldier straightened up before his commanding officer, and said, "Sir, I was in the lower realms when I met her, she was growing flowers…" Ah, yes, Ryurei was the goddess in charge of all flowering plants, in Heaven, and in the world of the living. She favored roses above all, and would strangely sow seeds of black roses in select venues. A choice that somewhat puzzled and bothered him. "We started to talk, and…" There was no need for him to speak further. Although practically impervious to female attention (and some male ones too), Gojun knew that love was an emotion kindled easily. He would have a bone of contention or two with the Kanzeon Bosatsu, the Goddess of Love and Mercy, but heck, he would let it slide._

_"Onii-sama, leave Tenpou alone!" Ryurei's voice cut through the tense air between the two soldiers as she forced the doors to his office open. Only those sapphire eyes of hers could challenge the Dragon-King in such an outright manner, and for a moment there, even Tenpou was shocked. Always, she had been gentle and soft, not… domineering as she had seemed at the moment. "What we do is our own business and not yours!"_

_Rolling his fingers around his temple, nursing a non-existent headache, Gojun looked at Ryurei. "Ryurei, I'm just doing what is best for you," he tried to reason, only to have her thrust her katana into his ornate rosewood desk. She might be the Flower-Goddess, but she was still highly trained in combat, or so it seemed to be. Her Ki, it was soaring with anger, and Tenpou watched with wide eyes the exchange between brother and sister._

_The subjects that passed between brother and sister then flowed from the fact that they were the only remaining dragons in Heaven, to the last time she saved him from a horde of goddesses fawning over him. Tenpou Gensui watched them with a stern face of a soldier, but as time passed, Ryurei started to pepper her "conversation" with her brother with intriguing tales of their childhood, and he started to laugh out loud._

_"What is so funny?" the both of them demanded, Gojun's dragon-fangs particularly visible in his state of semi-rage. There they were, in their battle-stances even. Smiling, Tenpou walked towards Gojun and bowed before taking Ryurei's hand in his._

_"Sir, words cannot describe how I feel for your honored sister," he said to the Dragon-King. "However, please trust me when I say that I will never do anything to hurt her. If it is what you wish, I shall prove to you that I am indeed serious about pursuing a committed relationship with Ryurei, to bring her happiness for all eternity."_

_Suddenly, a small grin, if it could be called that, appeared at the corner of Gojun's mouth. "Very well," he told his subordinate. "I shall watch your career, soldier. If you wish to court my sister, prove to me that you are able to create a future filled with light for her."_

_It was only then when Ryurei's anger died down, and the lilies that she had put in the vase at the window-sill came back to life. "I knew that you would be reasonable, Onii-sama," she chirped happily before ushering Tenpou out of the room. Gojun sighed… Whatever he did, it was to ensure that his sister was happy, and it was clear that only this man could see that her smile remains ever on her fair face._

_Not long after Ryurei and Tenpou had left, a gust of wind brought sakura petals from the trees outside, spelling out the words: Tenpou Gensui would be taking the rest of the day off._

_Gojun felt another headache coming on…_

* * *

Hakuryu was a dutiful dragon, a very, very dutiful dragon. With no complaints, he carried four people on his back across grasslands greener than jade, treacherous mountains, and the hottest deserts, with only a small "Kyuu~~" when he got too tired at night. He was well-fed and well taken care of, and the little dragon was content.

But one night, when his owner was deep asleep, something came towards Hakuryu, something white and winged, just like he was. Peering out the window of the room, he came face to face with a figure he had never thought to see. It was his King, Gojun of the Heavenly Realms! In reverence, the little dragon bowed its tiny head, emitted a low "Kyuu" sound.

"You must be the little one that travels with the Sanzo-ikkou," Gojun said to the tiny one. If he had guessed correctly, this little one was just a youngling! Like Gods, dragons were immortal, increasing in size as they increased in age. Their ability to take human-like form was also determined by age as well. Strange, that Hakuryu would take the form of a Jeep, Gojun mused, but without him, the Sanzo-ikkou would be almost dead by now, or, it would take those four decades to reach Tenjiku…

He looked into the window and saw the now-mortal Gods of 500 years ago, with the Seiten Taisen himself... Really, it was astounding how… normal they all seemed to be. Their features had not even changed one single bit, save for the various lengths of their hair (not that Gojun ever cared about such details). And oh, Tenpou no longer reeked of cigarettes but Konzen did… Wait, was Konzen not a monk now? A Sanzo monk, to be exact…

"You must be joking me," he murmured to himself. These were the people sent to deliver Togenkyo from utter darkness? Surely, there were any better candidates? However, deep down, he knew the strength that each of them carried in their souls. Ryurei was right, the bond between them as brothers were stronger than anything. He had witnessed it first-hand five centuries ago, and it remained the same even now.

Hakuryu looked at his King with puzzled eyes. The being was so large, his wingspan must have been twenty of himself laid horizontally! But surely, he came with another reason other than to visit his humble subject, yes? "Kyuu?" he asked his King, quizzically, with the openness and daring only evident in the innocence of youth. Gojun smiled. This child only knew that he was the Dragon-King out of instinct, and did not yet know how to fear him appropriately.

Extending his talons towards the little one, Gojun petted Hakuryu's head softly, earning more "Kyuu" sounds. "I have a task for you, little one," he told the smaller dragon, eyeing Tenpou, no, Cho Hakkai's sleeping form.

* * *

"Kyuu… Kyuu!" Hakuryu chirped urgently, tugging Hakkai's shirt as hard as he could mid-flight. Meh. Humans were a seriously lazy lot in the morning, and he inwardly thanked the Gods that his King did not ask him to wake Sanzo up… Quickly, his "owner" got dressed and followed wherever her led him to, which happened to be the Black Rose Meadow.

Hakkai ran his hand through his hair. What was that little one up to? Why lead him all the way to Black Rose Meadow? "Hakuryu…" he looked into the ruby eyes of the dragon, only to find spots of red scattered among a sea of black. No, the red roses that suddenly appeared were not random occurrences, they seemed to form words. Climbing a tree, with Hakuryu still resting on his shoulders, his mouth became agape when he saw the words:

_Your past will become your future… Take care of my sister or I will make sure that you suffer in all your other reincarnations. _

"Kyuu" Hakuryu chirped, proud of himself that he had accomplished what his King had told him to do, although he did not know the meaning it carried.

* * *

"_Ryurei, do you know that those below associate black with death?" Tenpou asked Ryurei as they leaned against one another's backs in the meadow of black roses where she always waited for him during his "assignments". In a short span of time, he had already rose to the post of "Field Marshal", and was in charge of fourteen other soldiers._

_Raising an eyebrow, Ryurei picked up a rose and inhaled its scent. "Indeed," she said, "But from your books, the mortals offer white roses to the dead…" The two of them had spent many hours together, either like this, surrounded by flowers, or by his many, many books. Wanting a break from his usually disorderly living space, she dragged him down, to show him her latest creation. Tenpou chuckled, and took a puff of his cigarette. "Well, for one, I know that you like black," she added. "It's low-maintenance, and provides enough warmth…"_

_With almost little no effort, Tenpou smirked, and pinned her onto the ground gently. "Well, I can test that last claim out, with these black roses beneath a black-clothed beauty…" Clasping his fingers with hers, he pressed his lips against hers, kissing her softly before she flipped him over and deepened the kiss. It was ironic, really, that she, the Goddess of Flowers was actually akin to fire. Her spirit was restive and fiery, quite unlike her brother, who was calm and cool like the water. She tasted just like wine and rose-syrup, Tenpou thought as their tongues brushed against each other's ever so lightly._

_Sighing, she savored the contact between the skin of his calloused hands, strong from the amount of training he had, and the skin of her leg, revealed by the high slit of her gown. How could someone so powerful be so gentle? Gasping for breath, she wrapped her arms around his neck after their kiss broke, and looked at the blue sky. Soon, they would have to return to Heaven, and they would have to continue their duties. _

"_Forgive me," Tenpou said, his arms encircling her slender waist, holding her close to him, so close that he could smell her scent that was so intoxicating to him. Roses, everything about her was about roses, and he did not have a care. It befitted her somehow, a woman of strength and elegance. "When we go back there, we would have to act as if we are strangers…"_

_Ryurei looked into his eyes and replied, "I do not care, Tenpou… So long as I know that I have a place in your heart, I will be content…" Her hand was laid over his chest, where his heart was, and she could feel his heartbeat, so strong and steady, the rhythm made just for her. "You must have made many enemies by rising in my brother's army so quickly," _

_As always, she was wittingly sharp and capable of understanding the various situations before them. Although he did not look like it, Tenpou knew that there were a few… jealous individuals that might be happy to see him demoted. And since her brother, Gojun had told him that he would only allow him to marry her as long as he had an illustrious military career, he had to keep their relationship hidden from all others until the time was right. He would not stand for his beloved rose to be used by others, even though he thought it to be highly improbable. _

"_You would always have a place in my heart, Ryurei," he murmured into her hair, earning a soft chuckle from her as she leaned her head against his shoulder. "No matter what happens to me…" With that, she snapped her fingers, and showed him the most beautiful spectacle he had, and would, ever seen. Balls of light were spouted from the roses she had just created, and danced around the lovers as they danced together._

_It was a night of a full moon.

* * *

_HAN: I just found out that Gojun was indeed Hakuryu... Oh well, please forgive that mistake on my part. ^.^ I hope you enjoyed the second chapter of this fic, which I originally planned as a one-shot. Hehhehheh.

Playlist:_  
_

Flashback 1 : Tricky mischief, Red Cliff Part 1

Flashback 2: Evenstar, The Two Towers OST


	3. Goddess

"You do know that he remembers more of you than you think, right?" Kazeon Bosatsu asked the young Dragon-Princess as the sapphire-eyed goddess watched the journeys of the Sanzo-ikkou with her from her lotus pond. Of course, they were speaking about Cho Hakkai, the intriguing Youkai who had once been human… His ready smile, his power and his calm demeanor had not changed, and the Goddess of Mercy could see very well that ever since Ryurei "contacted" him through a dream, he was able to remember more, but slight, glimpses of his former life in heaven.

Ryurei looked at Hakkai's image and turned towards Kanzeon Bosatsu. "Does it really matter now, Kanzeon Bosatsu?" she asked, her voice filled not with sadness, or disappointed, which worried the other divine being. "They are on a mission of life and death, and they have to succeed, I cannot cause him to veer him the course he is allotted to." Her brother was once a man who took instructions without question, before that incident with Li Touten, while she had been always wearing her heart on her sleeves…

Placing her long fingers upon the dainty shoulders of Ryurei, Kanzeon Bosatsu said, "If you have really moved on, you would not come here to this lotus pond and tend to them personally," 500 years was quite a span of time, even for the immortal gods, and ever since Tenpou Gensui's death, and eternal exile to the world below, the flowers of heaven had always been slightly less beautiful than the flowers down there, save for the lotuses in her pond. "You still love him don't you?"

"Yes, but I am no fool, my lady," Ryurei replied, "Do you expect me to fly down there and tell him that he is the reincarnation of the man I loved? It is impossible! Moreover, he loves another, and he killed one thousand Youkai for it… I cannot hold him in the past forever…" He was given a new life, to be with the brothers he could not be with in Heaven, because they wanted to fight for their beliefs, because they wanted to protect the Seiten Taisen, whose pure innocence affected them all. She had expected it all along.

"You make the flowers bloom as you will," Kanzeon Bosatsu said, softly, her voice comforting. "Do you know how many smiles you bring to the world below, and here? I can only tell you one thing, child, the smiles that you have brought will one day return your own to you…"

* * *

Down below, Nii Jienyi, no, Ukoku Sanzo walked through Black Rose Meadow, the power of the Sanzo-ikkou still remaining in the sacred area. Of course, when Homura attacked Houtou Castle, he at once knew that the Gods existed, meaning the ethos surrounding this strange meadow had to be real. Through his various researches, he had often came across a term, known as the Key of Life, but had always come to a dead end. It took him many, many years to actually grasp a hint as to what that Key was, and finally, he had come out with the answer.

Up in the Heavens, there was a Goddess of Flowers, and she was in charge of not only flowers, but also all flora. It was she who brought them to the world, her powers granted by the energies of the Tenchi Kaigen Kyoumon that created the known world. This meant that besides the Kyoumon, only she had the power to create life, because the flora needed only air, water and the Sun to live, and they were the essential building-blocks of ecosystems all over, and it was she that created all plant-life. This Goddess, she was the Key of Life, and if he was able to get hold of her, he would be able to control all life, to some extent.

"Ryurei-hime, the Dragon Princess was the Goddess of Flowers," Ukoku read the inscription below her statue in the Dragon-Temple of the village next to Black Rose Meadow. "What a beautiful woman…" Soon, she would be his, but before that, he would have to report it to Gyokumen Koshu. "In love with a God who risked all for his brothers… Don't worry, my Goddess, I shall end your misery, soon."

Picking up a black rose at his feet, he inhaled its sweet scent and crushed it, before using his Muten-Kyou to annihilate the meadow. Surely, that would provoke her anger, and she would be right in his grasp.

* * *

"Onii-sama, have you gone rusty?" Ryurei asked Gojun after she had successfully parried her brother's attack with her katana. As always, they sparred with one another, training as they had been. Even though she had no interest in joining the military, she was still a highly-capable warrior, as was expected by all Dragons. "500 years of relative peace with little to do…"

Suddenly, she felt a sensation in her heart that seemed to be a great emptiness, and it caused her to clutch her chest and fall to the floor. What was she feeling? What was happening? It was as if… a part of her had been reduced to nothing, as if it had disappeared into nothingness. "Ryurei, are you alright?" Gojun exclaimed, shaking his sister by her shoulders. Her skin, it was pallid and cold, while her sapphires grew wide in confusion. Her breathing soon became erratic and rapid, and the pain in her chest increased… What was happening?

Utter nothingness… The true meaning of "naught"… Ryurei looked at her brother, and slowly recollected her senses. "It was as though something within me disappeared…" she told Gojun. Her first thought ran towards the flowers in the heavens, but nothing amiss, and then… "My black roses… They're gone!"

* * *

"Black roses?" Gyokumen Koshu asked her head scientist. "Do they really exist?" Roses were beautiful flowers, although they paled in comparison to her. But she had never heard of black roses before.

Nii Jienyi nodded, and presented one to her. "These are the purest of roses, my lady," he told her with his smooth smile. "And they represent the love of a goddess to a god who died rebelling against Heaven for his own beliefs." He could see that Gyokumen Koshu snarled at the word "god", remembering the damage that the so-called Toushin Taishi had wreaked upon Houtou Castle not long ago. "But of course, this is not the reason why these roses are so important to our experiments…"

Ah, immediately, his benefactor was interested. "And why are they so beneficial to us?" she asked, placing the black rose in her hair.

"The entire flora in this world is created by one Goddess," Nii Jienyi said, "And in all technically, this Goddess is able to create life, plant life, naturally, but if we can harness her powers, we can harness the creation of life as well." And life was what she needed for her beloved, Gyumaoh. "Legend has it that the Goddess of Flowers created these black roses for the sake of her lover, and it that it was the final species of rose to be introduced, only 500 years ago. If she can create these things on a whim, imagine, what can she do for us!"

Gyokumen Koshu's face immediately brightened. "But would it not be dangerous to toy with the Gods?" she asked him, "We have seen what damage one could do." Nii Jienyi smirked. He had found out that Homura, the Toushin Taishi was only half a God, because his mother was a mortal. His lifespan and powers were limited, but this Ryurei-hime, not only she was a full-fledged Goddess, but she was a Dragon-Princess as well. And depending on which legend that was followed, she was also a powerful warrior.

What Gyokumen Koshu did not know would not hurt her, Nii Jienyi deemed. "She is only a Flower-goddess, what can she do? Threaten to wilt my lady's garden?" Those words elicited a soft bout of laughter, and he was soon sent on his way to execute his plans. Soon, he would have the Key of Life, and he would be unstoppable.

* * *

Ryurei did not know who would have such enmity with her so as to destroy her meadow, but what she wanted to know was who had the power to do so. Gods could not kill, not even the slightest fly, much less an entire meadow of roses made by her power alone. But they were not destroyed in any way. Nothing remained there, nothing at all. Whoever did this certainly knew who she was, and how much her powers hold… At whatever cost, that person must be stopped, before more damage was done onto the world… She would not, and could not allow herself to be toyed with in order to create destruction. She would die before that happens.

"I volunteer to be the next Toushin Taishi," she told the council of Gods that now ruled Heaven, following the assassination of the Jade Emperor. Her sapphire eyes were filled with resolve, unflinching as a chorus of whispers rang throughout the hall. "It is the only way to save Togenkyo, besides having the Sanzo-ikkou doing our work."

Gojun was the first to reject her request. "You are the Goddess of Flowers, Ryurei. You create life, and you cannot destroy it. It is against your mandate!" His words were true, but he also said them to deter her from anything she might do to bring her in harm's way. His sister was blessed by the light of the Five Scriptures, receiving a great end of the power that created the World. That was why, she was tasked to create and maintain all plant life, and he knew that it already was a great charge without being the Goddess of War.

However, Ryurei was adamant. "If anyone doubts my skills in combat I accept their challenge," she said, holding up her katana above her head. "I have received the same amount of training my brother Gojun has. I promise you, I will not disappoint."

Still, there was silence. Gods do not kill, and from time immemorial, the post of Toushin Taishi were held by Gods who had eyes of gold, the heretics, because it was a task that went against the nature of the Gods. Gods, did not kill at all. The Toushin Taishi was only a puppet for them, used to contain, and sometimes, create violence.

"You do know that it was because of this post, the Toushin Taishi, that lost you the one you love?" asked Jiroshin, who stood beside Kanzeon Bosatsu as always. Tenpou Gensui was on Son Goku's side when Nataku was ordered to kill him, while he was already on Li Touten's watch list for being a threat to his "engineered" son. "Why would you take such a burden upon yourself, Ryurei-hime?"

Resolution… It was the look upon her fair face. It was in the tone of her voice. "The one who negated the existence of my black roses knows who and what I am," she told the rest of the Gods. "I am the Key of Life, and I cannot allow that person to further destroy all that I have done so much to protect. If I can create life, surely I can take it back as well… Too long have we stood here and watch the mortals do what we should have done long ago… Too long have we watched them suffer without doing anything. This is my answer to their pain, and this is how I will choose to live my life."

"Very well, Ryurei-hime, Dragon Princess," Kanzeon Bosatsu applauded. "You have shown great courage, and more importantly, great wisdom. You know that you will face death in such a measure, because even if Gods could kill, you would be utterly going against your own nature, your primary function. The very moment you shed blood, you would not be able to come back here, just because you are the Key of Life. Death is against your nature…"

However, Ryurei only smiled. "But what I create also dies," she added, looking at the lotus blossom the Goddess of Mercy was holding. "No flower or leaf lasts forever… Perhaps, it is time that I left my powers to the World, and return it to whence it came from."

Kazeon Bosatsu nodded, and looked at Gojun, who revealed no expression. "Whatever you decide, I will be right behind you," Gojun told his sister, placing his hand on her shoulder. "You have been a wonderful sister, but you shall be an even greater comrade."

Ryurei hugged her brother, uttering words of thanks. There was nothing else that she could do at that moment.

"Give the new Toushin Taishi her armor!" Kazeon Bosatsu bellowed, and returned her gaze to Ryurei. Yes, this child was very, very special indeed… She would come to know, that the past will catch up with the future, no matter what.

* * *

Playlist:

Kanzeon and Ryurei: Saya's Love, Blood+

Gojun and Ryurei: Tricky Mischief, Red Cliff, Part 1

Nii Jienyi: Vampire Threat, Blood+

Ryurei as Toushin Taishi: Saya's Courage, Blood+


	4. Pasts

_Tenpou noticed the flower on Konzen's desk, standing upright in a clear vase made of glass, and smiled. No doubt, it would be Ryurei's work of art, but he had never seen anything like it before. "A very nice Onee-san gave it to me so I could give it to Konzen!" Goku chirped, as though being able to read his mind. "And guess what, her hair was as shiny as Konzen's too!" It was a lily, yellow, like the color of the sun, flecked with speckles of red, as though they had been stained with blood. A rather strange combination, making it even more exotic… It was beautiful, to say the least, and a sparkling new creation. _

"_I heard from a child this morning that you made a new genus of lily," he told Ryurei later that day, as she sipped her wine, and he took a puff of his cigarette. Each one of them had their own vices, she mused, his large hand covering hers. "Just for Konzen Douji…" There were few in Heaven who knew of their relationship, and Konzen was one of them, being a mutual friend. Ryurei had been known Konzen through the various play-dates with her that Kazeon Bosatsu had forced upon him when they were children, so that he could learn to "appreciate beauty" and not be so bored all the time, to no avail. Oftentimes, she would have to refrain herself from trying to mince him into pieces and feed him to her brother for lunch._

_Chuckling, she leaned her head on his shoulder, and said, "He was too adorable to ignore, Tenpou. No wonder a no-life like Konzen would take him in…" Goku had wandered into her gardens as she was coming up with something new, and helped her to create the lily. Wanting to show Konzen the product of their joined labors, Goku asked her if he could take one back with him. "His eyes were so big that I just had to give in, even if it was just a prototype." _

_But Ryurei knew that Goku was no mere child. The diadem on his head, it was a clear sign that it was a limiter. A being that was born out of the World itself, his powers would have been great and disastrous if left unchecked and unchallenged. Goku was brought to the courts of Heaven so that he could be monitored, and who better than Konzen Douji, who had so much free time on his hands? "Come to think of it, Konzen actually smiled when Goku gave him the lily," she added after another sip of wine. Goku really is affecting him, in a good way, of course."_

_Tenpou could not agree with her more. There was indeed a change in Konzen. He was actually less bored and smiled slightly more often. However, he was afraid that things were going to change soon. Although Heaven seemed like a genuinely peaceful place, there was something amiss, as though whatever that had happened was just an image, a figment of an imagined reality… As the violence in the realms below grew with more powerful and strange Youkai than the Heavenly Army could ever handle, and in the corner of his mind, he knew that it was not that simple at all. _

_With all the disturbances going on, he hoped that Ryurei would be far from danger. Yes, she was trained in combat, and yes, her abilities could match that of her brother's, but so long she was the Goddess of Flowers, she would be the Key of Life. Apart from the Tenchi Kaigen Kyoumon, she would be the only one with the power to create life, and if there would be a plot of a coup, or something else, she would definitely be one of the targets. He wanted her to be safe, and judging on his involvement from the current turn of events, he would only bring danger to her._

"_Do you think that my ears are deaf and my eyes are blind?" she asked him, her voice suddenly serious, as though demanding a straight answer from him. Turning to face him, Ryurei's sapphire eyes were filled with poison as they pierced his emerald ones. "I know what troubles you, and it has much to do with Nataku Taishi and his father…" Li Touten had been a junior official in the Court of Heaven until Nataku was born, when there was no news that his wife had been pregnant at all. When the young Toushin Taishi rose in the ranks of the Heavenly Army, so did his own, and Li Touten grabbed every shred of power that he had gained. With the same amber eyes of gold, Goku would be a threat to Nataku, given his power and strength, and it was a risk that Li Touten would not hesitate to remove at the slightest notice. _

_His arms encircled her waist, holding her close to him. "I cannot risk losing you, Ryurei," he told her, "Every single day my men and I are being called down to subdue new Youkai-monsters, and we cannot handle them without giving a hard fight… I fear that it is much more than just coincidence…" He had feared that all those appearances; they were staged, staged in order to move the attention of the Heavenly Army to the realms below, for an even greater plan. _

"_Baka!" she scolded, slamming her fist into his shoulder, "Just say the word, and I would have joined you down there," she told him, "Do you know how worried I get whenever you are fighting, and I have to wait at our meadow for hours and hours? You know very well that I can fight!"_

_It was his turn to stare her down this time. "But you are the Key of Life. If you are lost, terrible things would happen to the world!" he exclaimed, cupping her flawless face. "That is why your brother protects you so, that is why I cannot risk your safety!" There was anguish in his emerald eyes, and she could tell badly he meant those words. "Ryurei, please, for your own sake, and that of the World's, leave the fighting to me." _

_Ryurei did not say anything, nor did she look at him. Turning away from him, she sat on his desk, fingering his toad-shaped ashtray. He was just like her brother! So obstinate about her safety, even all she ever wanted was to lighten the burdens upon their shoulders, and not become one! What use was she in being the Key of Life when she could not protect the ones she loved? What use was she in being a Dragon-Princess when she could not swing her weapon to help those who need her? She felt him holding her hands in his, and their warmth immediately radiated, causing her to turn to him, involuntarily. _

_Seconds later, a sheathed dagger appeared in her hands, where he had been holding them. "I want you to use this if you need to defend yourself," he told her, unsheathing it for her, revealing its blade dotted with sparkling emeralds. "When you look at this dagger, think of it, as you are looking at me," he begged. She had told him the first time they met, that his eyes were like emeralds. "If I am not here to protect you, this dagger will."_

_Tears started to well in her eyes, but they did not fall. Ryurei was too strong for that… She threw herself into his arms and embraced him as tightly as she could. "Tenpou, you are speaking as if we would never meet again," she said, scared of that prospect. "Please, whatever you are planning, please, tell me…" He was a brilliant strategist, that could never be denied, but he was always acting alone… Although the appearance of Kenren Taisho as his subordinate had somewhat lessened that already, he was still so solitary. _

_Embracing her as well, Tenpou drew a long, hard breath. He loved her so much, but it was what he had to do, to keep her safe. He did not know what path he was about to take, but he knew that only sorrow and pain would come to her, if she had followed him. It would be better that she remained as she was, the Goddess of Flowers, loved by all, and protected by her brother. He had to protect her from his own destiny, and it was the best way he knew how._

"_I love you," he whispered to her, before kissing her, putting in everything he felt for her. It was she who had given his life so much color; she that had given him a reason to smile. Her existence had given him something to protect, something to cherish, and there was nothing than he wanted for. She, too, gave everything she had into the kiss, knowing that it could be very well the last time that she would see him. He was as stubborn as her brother could be, and she knew that he would risk everything to get what he wanted… After what seemed like a sweet eternity, their kiss broke, and he drew her into his arms once again, tucking her head under his chin. "Ryurei, forgive me… This is the only way I know to protect you," he murmured. She was crying now, having caved in from the brave front she had tried to create. "Remember, no matter whatever happens to me, or whatever I become, you will always have a place in my heart."_

_It took a great amount of courage for Ryurei to acknowledge those words. She looked at him with those sapphire eyes that pleaded for him to stay with her, but he knew that nothing could be as they wished. They might be Gods, but even they could not disobey Fate. They shared another kiss, this one, bittersweet and tear-filled before she picked up the dagger and started to walk towards the door of his office. He could not stand it; he tried to steel himself from the image of her moving away from him, and held her once again. Both of them remained like that for the longest while…

* * *

_

_The next morning, Nataku Taishi was ordered to kill Son Goku by his own father. The young God of War looked at his friend and found the same amber eyes, and decided once and for all. He decided to be free, and so, he cut himself instead. It was the only way… _

_Hours later, news came to Ryurei that Son Goku, Tenpou, Kenren Taisho and Konzen Douji had held Tenpou's regiment in their barracks hostage, along with her brother, Gojun, who apparently willingly went with them. Li Touten would surround the complex with his men, and the greatest massacre in Heaven was to continue, while the four of them were accused of assassinating the Jade Emperor, amongst other crimes. In exchange of the lives of the Western Army's soldiers, they demanded for exile into the Realms below, to be free from the laws and dirty politics of Heaven, if they could make it there alive…_

_Sadly, only Son Goku descended the elevator. Kenren Taisho died fighting the countless "Nataku" experiments deep in Li Touten's laboratories, while Tenpou died after defeating the countless Heavenly soldiers that swarmed towards the pathway that led to the Gate of Heaven which linked Heaven and the Lower Realms. Konzen Douji, he was crushed by the elevator of the Gate, in order to get Goku inside… In the end, Son Goku was sentenced to imprisonment in the summit of Mount Gogyou, never to age or to feel hunger… It was the greatest torment and punishment Heaven could decree.

* * *

_

_After that day, the flowers of Heaven were no longer the fairest in existence, and the laughter of the Dragon-Princess was rarely heard again.

* * *

_

Hakkai woke up from another dream of blood and gore. Once again, he was the perpetrator, but those that he had killed, were not Youkai, but soldiers. Scores and scores of soldiers. Once again, he had seen the Goddess that had appeared in his dreams, and now he knew that he had once loved her. That dagger that he had given her, it was created by using his own Ki at that time… That was why it still came back to him, even if he had left it at the Dragon Temple…

Ryurei… That name rolled off his tongue so easily, leaving a fragrant taste in his mouth, once again reminding him of roses. Why was he fighting, or rather, what was he fighting for? And to make things even more complicated, Goku was in the picture as well, just that he was smaller and shorter… The other two men, that Konzen Douji, he looked uncannily like Sanzo, and Kenren Taisho's appearance was like that of Gojyo's, if the half-Youkai had short hair. If this was a message from the heavens, what are the Gods trying to tell him? What did they want him to know?

* * *

Playlist:

Tenpou and Ryurei: Evenstar, The Two Towers OST


	5. Meetings

The Toushin Taishi… The only God in the Heavenly Army allowed to take life… Who would have ever guessed that the next one was Ryurei, the Flower Goddess? She had been in the annals of time since it began. A power that was an extension to that of the Tenchi Kaigen Kyoumon, and that of the Five Bodhisattvas. The purest form of Life, no, Life itself, setting the burden of blood upon her shoulders… It was not only sacrilegious, but it was an act of defiance against Nature… As with the fate of all Toushin Taishi, her death would come soon…

"What Key of Life would I be if I cannot protect what I have created?" These words of his sister rang again and again in Gojun's head. For the first time in five centuries, he had seen a true smile from her when he told her that he would willingly fight beside her if she needed him. That girl… He knew that was going in her mind. With every step the Sanzo-ikkou get closer to Tenjiku, the hold on the Minus Wave upon them gets stronger, and she would not allow them to suffer, just as she had watched from the shadows 500 years ago.

Dragons were trained and born to fight, no matter what. Dragons were trained and born to protect. Ryurei was not allowed to join the army in the days of her youth, when the World had just begun. Heaven had resigned her into her gardens, to create the plants that had become the foundation of the lush and vast ecosystems for the world of the Living. For a time, she was happy, but now that there was little to do, and almost no use for her abilities, she was living in a personal hell, unable to fight, unable to be with the one she loved. It was a reprieve from the suffering she had faced in silence for five hundred years.

"You look beautiful!" Kanzeon Bosatsu exclaimed as Ryurei came out from the dressing-screen, in her new armor as the Toushin Taishi. Hers was a gown in chain-mail, quite similar to what she would always wear. Her katana hung onto her bejeweled chain belt of platinum by another similar-looking golden chain, while her golden hair was set into a braid that gave her unobstructed view of the world. "We have never had a Dragon-Princess in her full finery in many, many centuries, have we not, Gojun?"

Taking a small gulp, Gojun quickly evaded Kanzeon Bosatsu's piercing gaze and nodded. "What do you plan to do when you get down there?" he asked Ryurei petting her head, as all older brothers did. "Would you need me to accompany you?"

She smiled and shook her head. "The trees will tell me where they are, Onii-sama," she replied, "They will have to accept the help of a Goddess, right?" Disbelief filled Gojun's eyes temporarily, that Ryurei's old self had returned… But the woman standing before him was not his little sister. His little sister had flowers in her hair, and a smile that could blot out the Sun. She had the look of a woman deeply in love whenever someone mentions Tenpou Gensui, in secret of course, and she would always have a glass of wine by her side… Not this woman. This woman was fully armed and dangerous. The power within her emanating like true fire… Long gone was the young Goddess of Flowers, Ryurei, standing in her place, was the Goddess of War, Ryurei-hime the Dragon-Princess.

"If you need anything, call me, and I shall be there at once," he told her, hugging her. This was what she had chosen, this path of death, and he could only watch… Perhaps, this was what she had felt all those years ago… He could feel her nodding in agreement, and he knew, that he had to let her go. After she steps into the Gates, it would not be sure if it would be the last time they would see each other again. Hopefully not.

* * *

The Sanzo-ikkou did not know what happens in Heaven, but Sanzo, as the servant of the Gods, he felt a new shift of power. Something was different with the Ki of the world, it seemed to be, and every single one of them was feeling it. It was as if something had changed, something very old and powerful, had taken a new form. Under the twinkling stars, beside the fires of their campsite, they felt the coming of a strange presence, neither Youkai nor human.

However, that power felt familiar, strangely similar to what they had felt at Black Rose Meadow, when the lights begun to dance. And before long, a woman appeared before them. She was tall, from the shape the fire's glow had cast upon her, and she was armed. Sanzo, Goku, Gojyo and Hakkai recognized the shape of a katana most of all. This woman, what was she, and more importantly, who was she? The closer she got to them, the greater her power was to them, and when she came into full view, Hakkai, most of all, was shocked.

Those sapphire eyes that head of gold hair like the shining sun, that rose-shaped chakra upon her clear forehead. It was Ryurei-hime, the woman who haunted his dreams more and more often. But why did she come to them so fully armed? For what purpose she was here?

"I have watched the four of you ever since you started in your travels," she proclaimed, her clear voice sounding of steel-like resolve, with the authority of a true Goddess. And then, she did the unimaginable. She bowed to them, a formal greeting, with a smile upon her face. "I am Ryurei of the Dragons, at your service as the new Toushin Taishi after Homura, whom you have defeated."

Sanzo knew a God when he saw one, and this Goddess, was definitely a genuine one. Kneeling to the ground, the same as he had done before the Sanbutsushin, he said, "I am your servant, Genjyo Sanzo, the 31st of the East. The other three… are my servants."

"Oi, Sanzo!" Gojyo exclaimed immediately after that. "Would you knock it off?" Hakkai grimaced as the two of them begun yet another shouting match, with Goku cheering for the both of them at once. This was no way to act before a Goddess. His gaze was fixed onto her, and as if by instinct, he walked towards her and held her in his arms, just like in his dream.

The gesture shocked Ryurei to no end. He was not supposed to do this, not because of her status as a Goddess, but because he had no memory of her. His warmth, it was the same warmth that she had remembered, the same emerald eyes, the same power… Everything about him was still the same, albeit that she could not detect any trace of cigarette smoke on him. "Cho Hakkai," she whispered his name, a foreign word to her, "You do know what you are doing, right?"

That much, Hakkai knew. She was the Toushin Taishi now, she could kill him then and there, and no one would come to save him. To his surprise, she returned his embrace, and buried her head in his chest. "Ryurei," he called her name, the tone of voice so similar to a time long forgotten. Whether or not the others saw this did not matter. It was as if the sight of her dictated his actions… She still smelt of roses and wine; that much he knew… But even that moment had to end. "Forgive me, my lady," he apologized for his abrupt actions. A question rang in his mind, though, was she not the Goddess of Flowers? Why was she the Toushin Taishi?

"You are right, Cho Hakkai," she answered the questions in his mind. "I was the Goddess of Flowers, but due to certain circumstances, I decided to change my profession. This Minus Wave is not only causing the humans and Youkai to suffer, but that of my own children as well, the plants, and the flowers, the trees and the leaves. I cannot stand for it, but nor can I stand watching the four of you bear a burden that we in Heaven should have a share as well."'

After having stopped trying to kill Gojyo, Sanzo turned to her and said, "That is very kind of you, Ryurei-sama, but we can do fine on our own." He did not expect her to turn and go back to Heaven from whence she came, but he did not expect for her to caress the side of his face.

"So much anger and hatred that you carry within your heart, Genjyo Sanzo," she said softly, "Yet, you serve us without question, despite what Fate has done to you… You may be able to accomplish this mission of yours without my aid, but what then after you stop the experiments? Do you think you can stop the Minus Waves so easily? How would you do it, Genjyo Sanzo? Would you bear all the power of the Tenchi Kaigen Kyoumou alone? It would kill you within seconds."

Violet eyes widened. How did she ever figure that out? The plan had only just begun to surface in his mind, and he had never thought of it seriously yet. "If that is what is needed to be done, then so be it," he reasoned.

"Don't throw away your life so easily," she warned him, sapphire eyes narrowing as she looked at each and every one of them. "There is another way, one that I cannot tell you as of yet. But one that would not need such a great sacrifice from you. The Tenchi Kaigen Kyoumou are too powerful to be handled by a mere human, even if you already wield the power of one."

A pregnant silence followed, and Sanzo's expression was as sour as ever. _Some things would never change_, she told herself, and looked into the fire. "These past years, you have traveled so long and so hard, please, I beg you, allow me to share this with you…"

Hakkai was the one who spoke next. "Why?" he asked her, "Gods cannot kill, at least, that was what Homura told us, except the Toushin Taishi… Why would you walk this road?"

"Because I missed the same chance an eternity ago," she told him, the emotion in her voice changing to one of regret, but of relief as well. As her gaze became locked with that of Hakkai's, she told them, "I once loved a God who risked it all for his own beliefs, he fought against those that he had served, and only death awaited him. I was so much of a fool to actually listen to him, and hid myself in the safety of the shadows when I knew that I could have been by his side… But not any longer. The four of you are the last hope for this world as we know it, and I shall aid you as best I can."

_This is the only way I know to protect you_, the words repeated in Hakkai's mind countless times. In his dreams, he had told her those words before facing death, and now, she had said the exact same words, although she phrased them differently. Taking her hand in his, he kissed it and led her towards the fire. Gojyo saw that small exchange, and took a mental note of it.

"Well, since you're already here, I guess we can't chase you out," Gojyo said, leaning against the tree behind him, "Right, Sanzo-sama?"

"Suit yourself," Sanzo grunted, and lighted another cigarette. Watching as Goku started to warm up to her, bombarding her with many, many questions about Heaven, he could not help but wonder. Why was her presence so familiar to him? The only Gods he knew where the ones with Homura, and the Sanbutsushin. Well, he was saved by Kanzeon Bosatsu herself, but he was unconscious at the time, so she did not count. But this Ryurei-hime, she was absolutely familiar to him, just like an old friend from a forgotten time, from long, long ago.

* * *

Playlist:

Kourei, Gojun and Kanzeon: Evenstar, Two Towers OST

Kourei and Sanzo-ikkou: Fukisabu Kaze No Naka De, Saiyuki


	6. Memories

"_Thank you for the flowers you gave Goku," Konzen told Ryurei, watching as Goku was taking his nap. "They were really pretty." His words shocked Ryurei to no end, for she spent her whole life conjuring flowers for him, from the utterly beautiful to the downright morbid, nothing really made him appreciate her work. She looked at him, and chuckled, which caused him to raise an eyebrow. "What?" he demanded, only to earn more laughter from her. _

_She put her hand on his shoulder and said, "Konzen, I have known you ever since Onii-sama and Kanzeon Bosatsu forced those play dates on us. I know you like the back of my hand. The coming of Goku really changed you, for the better." It was really, really hard to get Konzen to smile for anything, and she had taken a personal mission that the flower that made him smile would be named her "best creation", and it turned out to be a blood-speckled lily… _

_Konzen harrumphed, and replied, "What about Tenpou, he turned you into a lady." When they were children, Ryurei was hardly seen without her katana, and was often seen sparring with the older boys, earning much scorn from the girls. Heck, he hardly remembered a time in their childhood when she would wear a dress without any protest at all. As she approached womanhood, she really blossomed like the rose she was. Trading cotton pants for gowns of silk, her short hair grown into long lengths of cascading golden rivers… He had some slight suspicion that it was because Tenpou caught her eye. There could no possibility that his friend would fall for a tomboy like her willingly. Even until then, he would not believe that there was no conspiracy involved._

"_You really are evil," she replied, looking at the dagger Tenpou had just given her. Konzen knew that look on her face from miles away. She was highly troubled, and he knew that it had everything to do with the actions of the Heavenly Military. "Heck, you wouldn't tell me what Tenpou told you even if I threatened to kill you."_

"_What do you want to know?" he asked. Somehow, he felt that karma would bite him in the ass if he did not make sure that the frown on her face was removed. Well, karma and Tenpou, that is. She asked him of Tenpou's suspicions, of the increase of Youkai attacks in the Realms below, and the strange rise of Li Touten… In short, everything that Tenpou and Gojun did not tell her, or only hinted to her. The saddest thing was that he knew as little as she did. "See, we're basically on the same boat."_

_Another bout of laughter came from Ryurei, and this time, it was filled with cynical sarcasm that ill-fitted her. "You chose this, Konzen," she told him, eyes still fixed on the dagger. "You chose to turn a blind eye on the military, if I remembered closely." But she, she was forbidden to do so, not by her brother, but by the Courts of Heaven, because she was the Key of Life. Her job was to maintain Life, anything else, was not her business and cannot be of her concern. _

_Ryurei was right. Konzen _did _close an eye from the military's movements, and now, Goku was about to be caught in a mess that no one can even comprehend its beginning or its end. "Well, it is not too late, to change, right?" he asked her. She could only smile at his words. That choice was not viable to her. The Jade Emperor would not allow it. If he did, she would have already commanded some portion of the army. "Don't worry; I'll look out for the chibi-saru and Tenpou for you."_

"_Thank you," she said, unsheathing the dagger. The emeralds, they really looked like Tenpou's eyes. There was something stirring from the very bowels of the courts, and almost every God and Goddess knew that something would happen with the coming down, something that will shake Heaven by its fragile foundations…_

_That day, was the day Ryurei saw Konzen Douji, her childhood friend, for the last time too.

* * *

_

Sanzo was the first to rise that morning, and he looked at Ryurei going through her various kata. She truly was a dragon, her attacks fluid and rapid, perfect, and ruthless. He could imagine how many Youkai would fall under her blade, even if she had never shed blood before. In his studies, he remembered that Dragons were natural predators, and that in heavens, the Dragon-Kings and Queens would lead the Heavenly Army for only this reason. Ryurei was the only Dragon that did not have a military station at all, and yet, she was still trained as one.

"Good morning, Genjyo Sanzo," she greeted Sanzo, bowing as well, which still shocked him to no end. Goddesses did not bow to mortals. It went the other way. "Forgive me, for I was but a junior Goddess in Heaven… It seems that I am too set in my old habits." While it seemed that way in the hierarchy of the Courts of Heaven, it was only due to her age. The Gods existed long before the World did, and Ryurei was born at the same time the World was created, making her one of the youngest of the lot. In truth, she would be able to hold a great amount of power when given the chance. However, she would not take it even if that chance came. She preferred her life just as it had been. Simple and free.

Knowing that she would be easily offended, Sanzo uttered a "Tch" and started to light a cigarette. Well, that was strange. Konzen Douji was never one for tobacco… Come to think of it, Hakkai did not smell of cigarettes at all… "Suit yourself," he said, which reminded her of the days of her childhood.

* * *

"_Konzen, come and play catch with me!" little Ryurei-hime shouted to her playmate, Konzen Douji, holding a red ball in her hands. However, as always, Konzen turned away. _

"_I refuse," he would always reply. It really was what Ryurei could ever take. Even after she threatened to tell his aunt on him, he would shout back, "Shut up!" If he was in an extremely foul mood, the phrase, "Tch, suit yourself" would be the preferred response.

* * *

_

Some things never really changed, Ryurei mused, and sheathed her katana. Sanzo watched her move back towards the campsite, and could not help but ask himself, where he had seen her before… Even Hakkai seemed to know her. That idiot practically held the goddess for dear life, as if he thought that no one else noticed!

* * *

_Of all the strangest things in Heaven, was the friendship between Konzen Douji and Ryurei-hime. The both of them had hair the color of the golden sun, and it was where their similarities ended. The two of them would constantly bicker over the most trivial of issues, and seconds (or days) later, they would go back into acknowledging one another's existence. _

"_Well, what do you think of it?" Ryurei asked, holding a prototype of a "sunflower" she was designing. It was almost as large as his face, and the petals where horribly thin and long. "The seeds can be used for oil for cooking, too!"_

_Konzen seemed uninterested, as usual. "It's ugly, the petals are too thin," he said, leaning against his chair, his legs propped on his desk. Taking a look at the flower, Ryurei waved at it, transforming the petals into shorter, but slightly thicker ones. "Now, they don't look as ugly."_

_Now, whenever Konzen said that, it meant that she had passed Quality Control. Over the years, Ryurei realized that however disinterested Konzen might be, he still had an incriminating eye for beauty. She was yet to find a flower that suits him, but she knew that the day would come, in the future, if not now. "Thank you!" she chirped happily before handing him the form to be sealed by him. Heck, she was not his subordinate, but she needed his clearance to get to the Lower Realms to plant her new flowers._

_She was just about to skip out of his study when his voice halted her. "Ahou, you left your katana!" he exclaimed, and threw the said weapon to her. "Don't blame me if you get eaten by some monster down there and you don't have it to defend yourself."_

_Throwing Konzen the brightest smile she could ever muster, she thanked him, and went straight to the palace where the Gate of Heaven was located. Once she was in the Lower Realms, she scattered the seeds of the sunflowers to all the reaches of the World, and began to water them. The first batch of flowers would always need several days to fully mature, and after that, they would propagate by natural means, and grow according to the time that she had set. _

_On the evening of the third day, she was faced with a patch filled with sunflowers, their round heads drooping at the absence of the sun. Suddenly, she felt a powerful presence, of something horrendously large approaching her with unimaginable speed. "Look out!" she heard a male voice calling out to her, and before she knew it, she was faced with a monster, two hundred feet in height, length, and… circumference. _

_Tenpou Gensui was sure that the woman standing before the monster would be dead for sure, losing her garden along with her life… He had never made such a bad mistake in his life. The woman's sapphire eyes glowed into a cold, deadly blue as she raised her hand. With her gesture, huge vines sprouted from the ground, holding the worm-like monster firmly into the ground. Such power… this woman must be a Goddess of some sort. _

_Taking the opportunity, he leapt to the spine of the monster and shot the tranquilizer into its skull. "Whoever you are, thank you," he said to the woman, extending his hand for a handshake. They were in the western reaches of the Lower Realms, but she did not return his greeting. Instead, she looked into his eyes, causing him to look into her own as well._

"_Your eyes, they're like living emeralds!" she exclaimed, before fainting in his arms.

* * *

_

It was the first time that she had met Tenpou… While he was in the middle of subduing a huge worm-monster and she had just finished planting the first sunflowers. She was seated with Gojyo and Goku at the back of Hakuryu, once the little dragon transfigured himself into a jeep, and they were driving through many sunflower fields, where the farmers were already collecting their seeds to be pressed for oil.

"Ne, Ryurei-hime," Goku said, "If you were the Goddess of Flowers, did you make sunflowers as well?" Curiosity filled his amber eyes, and she could not help but smile just by looking at him. "Why is sunflower oil so tasty?"

Ryurei chuckled, bringing the sound of Heaven into Hakkai's ears. "Even I cannot answer that question, Goku," she replied, conjuring a sunflower into her hands. "I just thought that those that lived here needed some form for oil, because they live in such wide meadows where olives or oil palms cannot grow… They needed something to use, so I designed sunflowers."

"Heh, I bet you were bored in Heaven and needed something to do," Gojyo butted in, earning more laughter from her. She was instantly reminded of Konzen, who often bemoaned the fact that he was going to be bored to death throughout the length of his life. "Well, you must have a favorite, right? The flowers, I mean."

That was an answer that Hakkai knew right away. "Roses," he said plainly and openly. Before the others could even ask how he knew the answer, he quickly added, "Well, that's because Ryurei-hime's chakra is a rose."

A smile formed across Ryurei's lips, and she nodded. "Hakkai is right, I love roses," she replied, changing the sunflower in her hand into a black rose. "But I love the black ones most of all."

* * *

"_I am going to kill you, Konzen Douji!" Ryurei exclaimed, brandishing the black rose she was holding in her hand. "I send a white rose to you for Quality Control, and you turn it black because you used your ink-pot as a vase!" _

_Konzen raised an eyebrow. "Shut up, and die, Ryurei," he replied. "How was I to know that it was for Quality Control?" Soon, another fight ensued between them, until Tenpou had the wisdom to break them apart. _

"_Maa, maa, I think you've fought enough," he told them, before picking up the rose. "Actually, I think that it's quite special. The mortals would die of laughter when they know the story behind these after you plant them, Ryurei."

* * *

_

"Yes, the black ones are the best among them all…"


	7. Revelations

Hakuryu was really, really happy to see Ryurei. The very moment they were in their hotel room, he just crept up into her lap and began chirping happily as she petted him again and again. "Hakuryu really likes you," Goku said, watching the little dragon "Kyuu" all the way to utter happiness, causing Ryurei to smile many times over.

"Well, he probably hasn't met with many dragons," she told Goku. Her race was getting extinct, having much to do with the wars they waged against one another since time began. Those that had the ability to take the form alike that of humans and Youkai, they were considered as Gods and Goddesses, and lived immortal lives, while those who could not, remained wild and feral. "One day, this little one will be a very, very powerful dragon." She told Goku, earning another happy chirp from Hakuryu. Goku watched her curiously. She said that she was a Dragon, but she didn't look like one at all. She didn't have any scales, or wings for that matter. "Females take the shape of human women, Goku," she explained, clearing his questions right away. "And once we change our shape, we can never go back into our dragon forms."

Hakkai watched her talk to Goku, while noting that Sanzo, had similar reactions to her presence just as he did. She was linked not only to him in his past life, but to Sanzo's as well, that much he could conclude. "Goku, Ryurei-hime needs her rest you know," he said gently, and took a seat on her bed. For the briefest moment, their hands touched, sending electric jolts up both their spines. "Hakuryu, you too." Hakuryu huffed at Hakkai, and continued to shower in Ryurei's company while Goku teased the little dragon. "You seem to be really good with children, Ryurei-hime" he told Ryurei.

She smiled, and petted Hakuryu's head. "Please, Hakkai, do not use that awful honorific," she told him. "Everyone calls me Ryurei… And to answer your question, I am probably among the oldest among the children of the Gods in Heaven, so they often look at me as the 'big sister' of the rug rats and expect me to babysit at most times. I'm always their 'Ryurei-nee'" The only exception was Son Goku, of course, but they did not have to know that.

"So, Ryurei, can we interest you in a game of cards?" Gojyo asked, earning a sly-looking grin from her. "I'll take it as a yes?"

Gojyo had never lost so much in his life, even when they were betting on the amount of clothes to be washed the next laundry day. Cursing and swearing, he ranted on how Ryurei was able to win round after round in poker, when he had the better hand at the first place. She had given him the thought that her hand was far better than his, and he had folded time and time again after adding to the pot... "Ahou," Sanzo chided. "Some Gods are telepathic, so they know what you are thinking. Feh, I thought you would have more brains than that."

"Oh no, Sanzo," Ryurei feigned a blush, "I'm not really telepathic at all. It comes with experience, I guess." And to think that she used to play poker with Homura for days and days on end… The times really were changing. Gambling was a serious, but popular vice of the Gods, and it came second after smoking. Of course, her brother would berate her for not "acting like a proper lady" whenever she was caught gambling, but he ultimately shut up when he saw Kanzeon Bosatsu lighting up in front of him.

"What I would like to know is how all of you live up there," Gojyo said, after all the cards were replaced back into their boxes. "The way you tell it, it seems that it's pretty much the same as how we live here."

Ryurei thought long and hard to answer Gojyo's question. Yes, on the surface, there was nothing that seemed unordinary. Many would just go about with their business, working in Heaven's various administrative departments while the children played with one another. Come to think of it, there was really no wonder why Konzen felt as if he would be so bored that his brain was on the verge of melting, while Gods like Tenpou, Kenren and her brother so actively joined the army. "The way of life is different up there," she told Gojyo, trying not to make the change in her voice too visible. "We live like puppets, forced to see what others wish for us to see, with chains holding us back from becoming what we truly can be. But it's changing now, a little at a time. The sakura blossoms that fell five hundred years ago are slowly growing back into full bloom…"

It was that stagnation that allowed Li Touten to plan his coup, that stagnation that had caused so much confusion in Heaven. Even until now, the government of the Realms Above was still in a mess, and now, only a council of the Elite was governing it until someone actually dared to step up and take charge. She rather liked the administration now, for at least, there was a little bit more freedom to do as she wished, partly because the council was chaired by her brother and Kanzeon Bosatsu, who were all disillusioned with the previous principles held by Heaven as a whole.

"Perhaps, that is also another reason why you came down here?" Hakkai asked further. He knew from his dreams that she was a free-spirited woman, who valued freedom above all. "To have a break from all that monotony?"

She smiled and nodded. "You are right, Hakkai," she told him. "A dear friend of mine once said that the boredom was so thick that one could die being crushed by it." Her gaze was directed to Sanzo, who was still reading the night-edition newspapers, far away from their conversation.

* * *

Twilight was soon approaching, and Ryurei still found no hint of sleepiness. She had been in the Lower Realms countless times before, but she had not felt so alive. It was not the thrill of potential combat that kept her awake, but all the sensations around her. The chirping of crickets, the rustle of the wind, and the twinkling of the stars… They were all so similar to her, yet, they were so different. Here, every single effort was a fight for life, while in Heaven, everything had been given, and they had nothing to worry about. Complacency in these realms would lead to death, the exact opposite from where she had come from. No wonder those four wanted so desperately to be exiled here… How could Tenpou ever think that life here would be dangerous?

Holding the black rose she had conjured in her hand, she let the ball of light dance around it for a little while before summoning it back. Black Rose Meadow was not planted, it was summoned by her own powers. As such, each single rose in that meadow was immortal, and each single rose was literally a part of her. Her thoughts went to the person who actually had the audacity to reduce the meadow into nothingness. Who was this person, and who had such power?

Utter nothingness… Could it be the power of the Muten-Kyou? The Muten-Kyou governed death and nothingness… So, the perpetrator was a Sanzo priest… Nothing seemed to fit at all. All Sanzo were tasked to protect each of the Tenchi Kaigen Kyoumon, and so, protect Togenkyo as a whole. To destroy the work of a Goddess, was to destroy a little of the fragile balance of the World. Who would dare to commit such sacrilege?

"Ryurei," she heard Hakkai's voice peering out the window of their room into the courtyard where she was drinking a glass of wine alone. "Have you not slept?" She told him that she was not tired, and walked towards him. "I have a question for you, if you do not mind me asking it." Once again, she smiled, and asked him to "fire away". Mortal colloquialisms were just so strange to her. "That night at Black Rose Meadow, I dreamt of you… was it real?" He held up the dagger and unsheathed it, its blade reflecting the light of the moon.

He handed her the dagger, and her expression changed. "That dream you had, was a vision created by me," she told him, "But this dagger, it is as real as anything. It cannot leave you, because it has found its owner once again." Those emeralds really, really looked like his eyes, she told herself. "You have many questions more, I know, Hakkai. But I cannot answer all of them." It was not because she could not do so, it was because she did not wish to burden him any further. This mission that he and the others were on, would be enough for an entire lifetime. He did not need to know anything from the previous one to add to that burden.

"What if I told you that I do not care?" he asked her, his voice matching the same level of resolution with hers. "What if I told you that I want to know what happened, if whatever dreams I have been having of you were true?"

The smile on her face changed in its quality. It was one that was forced, one used to hide an unspeakable amount of sorrow. She did not know that his had dreams that were all memories of their past, and now that he had told her that, she had no choice. "Yes, every single detail was true. You were Tenpou Gensui, the Field Marshal of my brother's army, and Gojyo was Kenren Taisho, the general that was your subordinate. Sanzo was Konzen Douji, the aristocratic nephew of Kanzeon Bosatsu, and Goku… well, you already know, he is the Seiten Taisei."

No wonder Homura had called them by those names. They really were Gods in a past life. Reaching to caress her face, Hakkai noted a stray tear that had fallen from her sapphire eyes. "Ryurei…" he called, climbing over the window to hold her in his arms. "Do you know that all my life, I had been searching for someone, someone to love, who has a part of me?" he asked her. "I used to think that it was my twin sister, and we stepped into a relationship so dangerous that Fate had to intervene." His life with Kanan, although simple and happy as long as it lasted, was filled with guilt on their parts. Every day, they had lived in fear that the other villagers would notice that they were committing some form of incest… They told each other that it did not matter, but deep down, it did, and it was gnawing at his soul. "No matter what happens to me, whatever I become, you will always have a place in my heart… Did I tell you these words?"

"Yes," she murmured, "Yes you did…" The stray tear had become almost a stream of tears, and yet, her voice did not shake. "You left without notice, only leaving that dagger in my hands… You knew what was going on, and you did not tell me anything. For five hundred years, I lived every single moment like a shadow… Not only had you left me, but my best friend as well. I grew up with Konzen Douji, and although we always fought, we knew one another the best… I could fight beside you, I could have done anything to help you, but because of what I was, I could not be there for you… I could not even find your body! And to think that I actually was foolish enough to have listened to you!"

For five hundred years she had lived, blaming herself on what had happened to all four of them, for five hundred years she had lived with the remorse that ate her inside out. Now that she was the Toushin Taishi, now that she had the freedom to fight by their side for a better future, she knew that there was nothing more that she could ask for. "Have I always been the source of your tears?" he asked her, wiping her tears away with his thumb, sapphire meeting emeralds. "How could you love a man like me, if I brought you so much pain?"

There was no other way to answer him. That much she knew. Kissing him softly, she knew that it was the best she could do to answer his question. In all actuality, she herself did not know why she had come to fall for him. It just happened, like the course of Nature. Soon, he took dominance of the kiss, and kissed her back, his fingers clasped with hers. Once again, he tasted of wine and rose, and once again, he felt whole. This woman, he loved her, be it in this life or in the past. He would love her for all eternity…

He had left her before, but no longer. He would never let go of her, ever again.

* * *

Playlist:

Hakkai and Ryurei: The Rose, Westlife, or I See You, Avatar OST (Leona Lewis)


	8. Alliances

"So, this is how it's like," Ryurei said to Gojyo, their backs against one another as they fought through the scores and scores of Youkai. They had only just left the town where they had stayed for the night, and already they were being attacked by at least seventy Youkai, assassins sent from Tenjiku. She had expected her first kills to be something more… exciting, and supposedly did not involve cutting down small-fry that were so stupid as to literally run towards their own deaths. Slashing a rampaging Youkai with her katana in the abdomen, she waved her hand and the nearby trees uprooted themselves and began to stomp on any Youkai in their way.

Gojyo was really impressed. "And I thought you were Heaven's florist," he teased, manipulating the sickle-blade of his weapon to decapitate at least five of their enemies. "Well, what can't you do, hime-sama?" Hime-sama, it was his nickname for her ever since she had joined the Sanzo-ikkou and it stuck on her. Five hundred years ago, she did not make Kenren Taisho's acquaintance, but she was sure that their attitudes remained the same. Womanizing, smoking and drinking were still his favorite pastimes.

Ryurei slashed one vertically in half and replied, "It depends on who you speak to, really," In the corner of her eye, she looked at Hakkai shooting blasts of Ki from his bare hands, showcasing his skill and his prowess. She could tell that even with his limiters on, he was already a powerful being… What would happen if they were taken off? Apparently, it happened twice before. And in the last time, Hakkai had done so to subdue Goku, whose limiter was taken off to save his life from a mortal wound…

Suddenly, the Youkai stopped attacking, and the presence of four others could be sensed. In fact, the Youkai were turning towards the newcomers, and began attacking _them_ instead. "This is a rather strange turn of events," Hakkai said, watching Ryurei recover from an opening stance. Strangely, her right foot was before her left, which meant that she would step with her left foot when she was attacking… Would that not cause her to cut her leg if she was a katana to fight?

"Hey, kuso-bozu!" a childlike, female voice chimed after the Youkai were all eliminated. "Who's the pretty lady with you?" The female was a Youkai was well, and by the looks of it, she would be around Goku's age, making her very well… endowed in Ryurei's eyes. "Is she your girlfriend?"

Hakkai had the urge to correct Lirin, but it seemed not the appropriate time. Ryurei burst out into laughter after hearing what she had said, and leaned against him for support. "Sanzo?" she laughed, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. "You are so funny, child,"

Lirin glared at Ryurei and shouted, "Who are you calling a kid?" But before she was able to pick a fight with the Goddess, the other three joined her. All of them Youkai, and one of them recognized her on the spot, and she did the same.

That Youkai with red hair and violet eyes, she had met him before. Yes, he was but a child then, younger… His mother had the same hair as he did, and the same earrings as well. This Youkai was no mere prattle at all. He was a Youkai-Prince as she had been a Dragon-Princess. "Kougaiji," she called his name in disbelief. "Is that you?"

"Wait a second here!" Goku exclaimed, breaking what was to be an awkward silence. "Ryurei, how did you know Kougaiji?" It was really, really confusing. Ryurei was a Goddess right? How was it possible that she had come to know Gyumaoh's son?

"I think that this is a tale that must be told in a less open space," Ryurei replied, her sapphire eyes not leaving Kougaiji one bit. The Youkai girl-child, she must be his half-sister, by the looks of it…

* * *

_Ryurei was in the Lower Realms again, inspecting her work, a new breed of jasmines when she was approached by a Youkai-woman and her child, a boy, by the looks of him. "Why, hello!" she greeted, telling them to come closer. "Would you like a jasmine, madam?"_

_The woman bowed and thanked her. "It is really beautiful, my lady Goddess," she told Ryurei, her eyes still fixed onto the ground. She had never seen a Goddess before, but judging by the amount of power she had felt from her, and the rose-shaped chakra on her forehead, it would be evident that she was one. _

"_Please, I would appreciate it if you would just call me 'Ryurei'" was the reply. She towered over the Youkai woman, who was petite and small. Ryurei's sapphire eyes then focused on the woman's son and asked, "What is your name, child?"_

_The boy looked up at her and said proudly, "I'm Kougaiji, Ryurei-sama," earning a smile from the Goddess. Both he and his mother were invited further into the field of jasmines, and where his mother and the Goddess talked for what seemed to be hours and hours._

_Ryurei looked at the boy and told his mother, "Your son will be a powerful Summoner, born with the power over Fire." She knew that Youkai, although mortal, had special powers of their own, and there was a branch of Youkai-magic where one could learn to summon spirits to aid them in combat or in mundane, everyday tasks. "But those eyes, they are filled with hate that a child should not have…"_

"_It is his father," the woman replied. "He had taken another concubine, and she would often cause him ill-favor before his father's eyes." Men, all of them were fools, no matter of what race they were, Ryurei concluded. "Kogaiji has been practicing day and night, wanting to please his father. I thought it best to bring him out for a short rest."_

_Even as she was speaking to his mother, Ryurei could see the boy practicing, this time, it was combat. "Would you mind that I spar with your son?" she asked the woman with a smile. It was an experience that really opened her eyes to the word 'prodigy'. The child was a natural fighter, armed with endurance, skill and possibly a powerful punch. He would be a formidable opponent to many when he grew into adulthood. _

_As it turned out, the woman was Rasetsunyo, the principle wife of Gyumaoh. Ryurei had only known about it after news of Gyumaoh's defeat by Nataku reached heaven. His entire family was sealed after his death, forever forfeiting their freedom.

* * *

_

"When Gyokumen Koshu lifted the seal upon us, she deliberately ignored my mother," Kougaiji told them, the very first time he had said anything about his true mission. "And for that reason, I have gathered the other Kyoumon of that witch to free her… The only ones left are the Maten-Kyou and the Muten-Kyou."

So, even Gyokumen Koshu was tricked, Sanzo thought in his mind. Ukoku Sanzo was actually Nii Jienyi. Even if the scientist had abandoned his duties as a Sanzo, he still had the Muten-Kyou. With it, he almost killed Sanzo and Goku… Its powers over nothingness and death was staggering, and it could even negate the powers of the Maten-Kyou…

Ryurei looked at Kougaiji. His soul was a restless one, filled with conflict, and the desire to save his mother, as well as to protect those around him. It was revealed to her that the smaller Youkai was indeed his half-sister, while the swordsman, was his bodyguard and the other female, his personal chemist and the overall "den mother" of the four of them. Like the Sanzo-ikkou, they would not back down until what they had set out to do was complete…

"In truth, whether or not you get the Kyoumon from Sanzo, it still depends on what your step-mother decrees," Ryurei told the prince. "My guess is that she is only using you… However, it cannot be denied that you will need all five of the Tenchi Kaigen Kyoumon to reverse the Minus Waves, and restore your mother as well." Her knowledge of the Tenchi Kaigen Kyoumon was not received through education, but because she was the Key of Life. She was the very personification of their power, born in dragon-form. If the legends were true, she would be able to use them without being killed. It was all hypothetical, but it was worth a shot.

Kougaiji's brows furrowed. "Are you suggesting that we should work together... We help you kill my father's concubine, and you will release my mother?" he asked. Although there had been various times when he was forced to join hands with the Sanzo-ikkou, the truces, however brief, were always uneasy. Ryurei looked at her companions, each of them with their own responses. "How sure are we that you won't turn tail and kill us?"

Hakkai walked up to them and put a hand on Ryurei's shoulder. "On the count that a Goddess is with us, and that we would have nothing to gain at all killing each other." Ryurei smiled at his words, and for that moment there, Kougaiji seemed to have detected a slight change in the other Youkai's countenance. It was the look of love between the two of them, even if it was only for a few seconds.

"Kou, Hakkai is right," Dokugakuji, the swordsman said to Kougaiji. "Perhaps we should wager a deal, just to make things more concrete?"

All eyes turned to Sanzo, who inhaled on his cigarette and puffed the smoke out. "Suit yourselves," he said. As always, it would be translated as a definite "yes".

* * *

Nii Jienyi was absolutely ecstatic. Not only was the Goddess of Flowers was now in Togenkyo, but the Sanzo-ikkou and Kougaiji and his followers had formed a shaky alliance. It would make things more and more interesting for him that was for sure. As the screen of his computer froze to a shot of Ryurei standing erect with her katana thrust forward, he could not help but to look at the image for a little while longer. The statue of her in the Dragon Temple did little justice to her, although the depiction was almost accurate. For one thing, her chakra was shaped like a rose, not the common red dot.

Once he had her in his arms, there was no telling what he could be able to achieve. World domination, all the riches of the world, anything his heart desired! But one thread started to pull at his heart… _If I'm not in a situation where I have to consume or be consumed, I do not feel alive…_ Those were the words he had told Komyou Sanzo in his youth, just the night before he had succeeded Goudai Sanzo as the keeper of the Muten-Kyou.

_I see, is it because that you wish to be consumed?_ That had been Komyou's reply, and until then, he was not able to understand why he was able to know why… Every day that he lived, it was particularly empty. Nothing seemed to challenge him. Having a Ph.D. at the tender age of seventeen, he set out to be a Sanzo priest because it was the "hardest thing in the world" to be achieved. When he became Ukoku Sanzo, everything became boring once again.

When he was approached by Gyokumen Koshu to revive Gyumaoh, he jumped at the opportunity. The combination of human science and the magic of the Youkai was one that was forbidden, one that had never been tried… It would give him the challenge of a lifetime. He knew that there would be repercussions, of course, like the Minus Wave, but he cared not for the lives of those too insignificant to even understand its complexities. After all, he could just reverse everything once Gyumaoh was alive again, since he would then have all five of the Tenchi Kaigen Kyoumon.

But now, with the presence of Ryurei-hime, everything had turned a notch harder. If he were to challenge her, he would be able to taste the true power of a Goddess. He would be able to savor either utter victory or utter defeat before Life itself.

_Perhaps then, I would truly be consumed_…

* * *

Playlist:

Fight scenes: Hiten-Mitsurugi Ryuu, Rurouni Kenshin

Flashback: In Memories, the Boy Meets the Man, Rurouni Kenshin.


	9. Union

What seemed to be a few days since the arrival of the new Toushin Taishi became weeks, and weeks became months. And as the months passed, the seasons had changed from autumn to winter. And when the dark mountains surrounding Houtou Castle could be seen, there could only be one thing: They have arrived in Tenjiku.

For the past six months, Ryurei had become an essential member of their team, not because of her vast power, but because of her smile. Whenever they felt like giving up, whenever they were close to death, the first and last thing that all of them saw was her smile. "So, we finally made it," Gojyo said, looking at the mountains further west. They were the only things that stood between them, and utter victory, or utter defeat…

Ryurei could feel the closeness of the other Kyoumon; she could practically see them with her own eyes. All her life, she had never attempted to contact any of the Tenchi Kaigen Kyoumon, but Sanzo had told her that ever since she appeared, the Maten-Kyou had been acting strangely, as if it was calling out to her. It functioned as it has always done in times of need, but he could feel the power of the Maten-Kyou reaching towards her.

"I do not know what is happening, as well," she told Sanzo in all honesty. "All my life, I had known that I was able to make plants grow. When I was a little older, Kanzeon Bosatsu came to me and claimed that I was the Key of Life, that I was able to create life in the form of the plants and flowers… I was then named the Goddess of Flowers, and was task to oversee the creation and maintenance of the flora of the World." She knew that she was different from the other Gods and Goddesses, and even from other Dragons. "It was only until recently that I knew that I was actually created by the Kyoumon, and my mother was chosen to bear me into this world…"

The other three listened to her tale in silence, Hakkai's hand never leaving hers. In the six months that she had been with them, the rebirth of their relationship was difficult to hide and they chose to openly proclaim it. "Which means that there is a possibility that Ryurei can actually use the Kyoumon without being a Sanzo," Hakkai said, bringing his hypothesis forward. It was difficult to prove it, but there had to be some sort of connection between Ryurei and the Kyoumon. He had faced Gods before, and he was sure that none of them had the amount of power that she had. However, there was no telling what effect that would come if she was to use all five of them together. She had told Sanzo before that it was nigh impossible for a mere human to handle, but what of a Goddess like her?

Goku was the one who ended the almost uncomfortable silence. "Ryurei-nee would be still Ryurei-nee whatever happens, right?" he asked, golden eyes looking at her. She smiled, and ruffled his hair. There was nothing that could ever put him down, she told herself, with his cheerful demeanor, he really was the Sun. No wonder Sanzo, Hakkai and Gojyo were willing to risk everything for him and him alone. To be honest with herself, she would, too.

He was born of the World, and she was the personification of Life itself. The two of them should have had the same fates, and yet, Goku was driven with the hardest and cruelest blow that Heaven could ever bestow upon him. "Nothing could ever get you down, can it?" Ryurei asked, and he shook his head. "One day, Goku, you will find that this is where your strength lies." She knew that the child would not understand what she had just said, but one day, when he was older, he would.

"Well, let's leave all that serious stuff alone for awhile, and let's see what this town has to offer us," Gojyo said, stretching his long limbs. They had been resting in the inn for quite some time now. "I say we head to the nearest watering hole and kick back before Kougaiji comes to brief us and whatnot."

However, Ryurei just smiled and gently refused him. There were many things going in her mind, and she would like to think them over. Hakkai chose to stay with her, while Sanzo and Goku joined Gojyo. "I can see that you are very troubled," Hakkai told her, grasping her hands in his. "Would you wish to tell me anything?"

"Do you know that the black roses were annihilated?" she asked him, removing the single black rose from her hair. It was the one that she had summoned from thin air, and this one was the only one left in the World. "Not long after you left Black Rose Meadow, someone, or something went there and wiped them out completely. For six months I tried to find out who did it, for six months I failed… But now, I feel that same power getting closer, and somehow, I feel like I know it, from deep within me."

There were many things that Hakkai did not know of the world, but there was one thing that he was positive about. "Did you feel anything when your roses disappeared?" he asked her. He had witnessed the power of the Muten-Kyou before, its darkness, and its ability to remove all light from the world. Ukoku Sanzo had almost tried to kill Sanzo with it before, and he would have succeeded, if Goku had not reached out for Sanzo in the nick of time.

Ryurei leaned her head on his shoulder, as she had always done, and said, "I did… The feeling of 'naught', like a part of me had been sliced cleanly off and had disappeared into a great void." So, it really was a Sanzo that had done all this… But why? What did he have to gain from such an act, and more importantly, what was his purpose in doing so? Was it to provoke her, hence luring her into a trap? "I sense a human in the depths of Houtou Castle, can he be the Sanzo that was responsible?"

The words that came from Hakkai's mouth shocked her even more. "Not only is Ukoku Sanzo responsible for the disappearance of your roses, but almost everything thrown at us," he replied, "The man that called himself 'Kami-sama', who had the powers of a Sanzo but not a Kyoumon, the brainwashing of Kougaiji, trying to kill Goku and Sanzo… Everything had been done by his hands."

"He would be an enemy that has to be brought down," she concluded. Closing her eyes, she could feel the Kyoumon calling out to her, trying to embrace her, like parents would to their child. One of them was the Muten-Kyou and it scared her, for a small part. With its powers to negate existence, even the memories of the objects that faced it would be removed. There would not be a trace of it in history or in time. However, that was not the true function of the Muten-Kyou. Not one of the Tenchi Kaigen Kyoumon were derived from acts of evil, they were all used for the creation of the World. It was the Sanzo that commanded it that had to be taken down. "What is his name?" she asked Hakkai, curious of her unseen enemy.

"Ukoku Sanzo," Hakkai said. "But we have a feeling that he is working for Gyokumen Koshu under another name. One Nii Jienyi or another…"

When the time came for them to face that deranged Sanzo-scientist once again, Ryurei vowed that the first thing she would get rid of in Houtou Castle would be him. It was ironic, really, that not only did they need to kill another Sanzo priest, they had to obtain his Kyoumon as well. Since time immemorial, the Tenchi Kaigen Kyoumon could never be held in the same place, and now, all five of them were needed for either two functions: to revive Gyumaoh, or to stop the propagation of the Minus Wave…

Hakkai sensed her resolve, and tipped her chin. "You were always so strong of will," he told her with a smile. Leading her lips to his, he kissed her hungrily, snaking his arms around her small waist, thus pulling her closer to him. Tongues met and danced, and a deep pool of familiar heat started to form in her body. Soon, he had her against the wall, holding each of her wrists at either side of her head as he kissed her again and again. Something was stirred in them, something that had always been there, but was not addressed. Something as primordial as Time itself.

* * *

"_Take me," Ryurei told Tenpou, placing the dagger that he had just given her on his desk, throwing her arms around his neck. "From this moment on, make me yours and yours alone." Tenpou was shocked, of course. Yes, there had been times when their passion had to go unquenche__d, but it was done out of fear and respect for her brother. Gojun, the Dragon-King had been a man of principle, a man of great beliefs of morality and discipline, and they had decided not to partake in intercourse until they had his blessing to marry. And no matter how frustrated they would get, they would always honor their promise to Gojun._

_Gently, he pulled away from her, afraid that he really would take her then and there. "Ryurei, what about your brother and our promise?" he asked her. For one thing, he was always ready to prove to Gojun that he really loved her, that nothing was based on purely lust and desire. Ryurei was one of the younger Goddesses, and a powerful and beautiful one at that, he could imagine the countless numbers of suitors that Gojun would have to face as well, and it was natural that he would have some form of distrust towards him, like all the other Gods that came to him for Ryurei. _

_Looking into his eyes, Ryurei told him, "I do not care." Her voice, it was of iron and steel, hard, and difficult to ignore the authority behind it. If Heaven had allowed her, Ryurei would certainly have gained a strong military position. She was perfect for the job. Taking her into his arms, he gazed into those sapphire eyes for the umpteenth time. _

"_Fire…" he whispered, "You burn of fire…" _

_Thus, he carried her into his private quarters and locked the door. The night was filled with joined bodies, entangled sheets, the sounds of passionate pleasure and the culmination of one love that burned brighter than any other star. _

_Kanzeon Bosatsu was gazing into the nothingness, as she always had, when suddenly, a ball of light came out from the black rose that Ryurei had sent her. The light flitted about her room, and around her, dancing, illuminating the dark room with its small glow. "Hmph, the little Goddess is finally a woman," she mused, holding out her hand to catch the little ball of light. When she unclasped her grip, it was still there, shining as brightly as ever.

* * *

_

A few hours after going out into the town, Gojyo had returned to the room they rented for the night, large enough for all five of them. But when he opened the door to peek inside, he saw scattered clothes all on the floor, Hakkai and Ryurei in the embrace of lovers, sound asleep. _Holy shit!_ He thought at the sight of the two of them, but it was just as well. The two of them had a love that crossed space and time, and there was nothing wrong in them consummating it.

Sanzo could tell from Gojyo's reaction that they were not to enter the room. He would kill the both of them if he had to explain the birds and the bees to Goku anytime soon. "Come on, Goku," he told the boy. "Let's get some groceries."

* * *

_When morning came, Tenpou opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was Ryurei sleeping on his chest, her golden hair sprawling all over him like webs of gold silk. He could not count how many times they had made love the night previous, but he knew that it was worth it. She was so beautiful, but he knew that for Heaven, and possibly the world below, he had to leave her embrace. He had to. Li Touten's actions had gone too far, and if he did do anything soon, all would be lost. _

_Slowly and gently, he removed Ryurei's body from his, and placed her upon his bed, covering the blankets over her. She seemed so serene… but he knew that it would not be for long. He would not see her again, those sapphire eyes, that willing and breath-taking smile, he knew it. Once he rebelled against Heaven, there was no turning back. _

"_I love you," he murmured, kissing her forehead. He placed the dagger he had given her in her hands, and started to exit the room. He did not wish to see her tears, and he knew that he would cause them frequently, from that day onwards_.

* * *

HAN: I actually thought of adding some form of citrus content, but I thought, nah. It would be better this way, haha. But if you really want anything, please do not hesitate to tell me! ^.^ I would gladly right a companion piece, or extend it right here, just for the lemon/lime scene. Also, I have changed the chapters a little bit. They now come with a little playlist so you can have a feel of the scenes, hahaha. ^.^

Playlist:

Hakkai and Ryurei: Hakkai no Theme, Saiyuki, or All I Ask of You, Phantom of the Opera

Tenpou and Ryurei: Achilles and Briseis, Troy, or Evenstar, The Two Towers OST


	10. Strategies

About an hour later, Ryurei awoke in Hakkai's arms, spooned against him. "Time to wake up, sleepy-head," he whispered in her ear, raining soft kisses on the side of her neck. He felt her hands close around his forearm, and soon, she turned around, and was facing him. He was a very lucky man, to have found her again… With what had happened a little more than an hour ago, he knew that the Goddess would have spoiled him from other women without question.

Never one to lie on a bed for long, Ryurei kissed his nose and sat up, taking the blankets with her. He might have seen her naked and much more, but she did not want to scare the hell out of the other three, who would barge in any moment now. Grabbing her silk gown from the floor, she turned towards him and gave him a playful wink before entering the bathroom to change.

The fire, the passion, and that glow that she had felt, everything had been real, and this time, he would not leave her on some death-seeking personal mission. She would be there with him. A slight smile formed on her face when she tried to imagine Gojun's reaction to what they had done, but she figured that he would let it slide. They loved one another, while he knew that it was utterly pointless to guard her honor forever and ever.

* * *

Several minutes later, she opened the door and found six other individuals in their room already, with no trace of the earth-shattering love-making that had occurred. However, there was this sly smile no Gojyo's face that she really felt like wiping it off with a brandish of her katana, but she digressed. Greeting each and every one of them, she sat next to Hakkai, and watched as Kougaiji and Dokugakuji laid out the computers that contained the extensive maps of Houtou Castle.

"So, as you can see, the Castle is heavily guarded at all fronts, so a frontal assault would be suicide," Kougaiji said, knowing that they would not be so stupid as to even try it, but it would not hurt to add it in. From the schematics that they had provided, it could be seen that there were four bunkers, albeit very carefully concealed bunkers that led to the Castle through extensive underground networks. "The labs extend to all around the Castle, but my father is held in the lowest basement floor, guarded by Nii Jienyi and his assistants."

Ryurei stood and looked at the profile of the scientist at the side of the maps: A Ph.D. holder at the age of seventeen, a highly regarded bio-scientist specializing in combat, genetics, Houjutsu amongst other things. So, this man was the Ukoku Sanzo she had been hearing so much about. "Leave this one to me," she told them, "He has more than just the experiments hidden in his sleeves, I can feel it."

If Sanzo was right in saying that the power of the Maten-Kyou was useless against it, then it was up to her, to handle this man, as crazed as he was. "If you act alone, it would be too dangerous," Hakkai told her, looking at Kougaiji for back up. However, the Youkai-Prince agreed with her.

Gojyo looked at the schematics and said, "Do you think that pulling the plug on the Castle would do anything for us?" If anything was that simple, anyone could have taken Houtou Castle down with much ease, but at least in cutting down the power, there would be confusion, and confusion would be a good thing, if they were facing hordes and hordes of Youkai in their own turf.

Yaone nodded and gave Gojyo an affirmative answer. "But the main laboratory has a second emergency power-source that has its power generated by magic," she replied with almost a sigh. "And it seems that only Nii Jienyi knows where that is."

"And what about the other Kyoumon?" Goku asked, "Won't they be gathered in the same place, since Gyumaoh needs all five of them?"

Kougaiji pressed on the keyboard of the computer, and the image of a small room was shown. "Here, they kept the Kyoumon here, but you would need Gyokumen Koshu and Nii Jienyi's fingerprints to get it."

"Easy, we'll just cut them off and get in no problem," Gojyo butted in, stretching lazily.

"No, the scanners only work if they can find a pulse as well. You would need them both alive, Gojyo-san," Yaone replied.

Well, that was a rather fun predicament they were in. Not only did they had to get it and cut the power twice, they needed to fight through countless Youkai, and kidnap Gyokumen Koshu and Nii Jienyi, get them to open the whatever it was that held the Kyoumon, kill them, and proceed to kill Gyumaoh once more. And as a bonus, they had to free Kougaiji's mother and stop the Minus Waves as well.

"We could create a diversion," Ryurei said to all of them. Seating herself before the computer, showed them the main entrance of the Castle, where about one hundred Youkai were patrolling and guarding it. Without a doubt that the main defenses would be there, and their first reaction would be to get as many people as they could to overcome whatever is coming directly at them. "Someone has to get out there and draw their attention from those working inside. That would give us just enough time before anyone inside knows what's going on."

Luckily, there was a chorused round of agreement to her suggestion. "I'll go, I'll go!" Lirin volunteered, jumping up and down happily. "We'll get one of you guys to look like you're attacking us, and they won't have any ideas that we're actually working together."

"It would work," Hakkai commented, "But I thought Gyokumen Koshu already knows of your defection? Wouldn't it be a little bit of a risk to try anything like that?"

"It would work, because only the higher-ups know," Dokugakuji replied, "Those that guard the main gates might not have a clue on what is happening, which means that Lirin and whoever is creating the diversion has a little time to get it before anyone notices what is going on."

Lighting up a cigarette, Gojyo looked at Sanzo and said, "I know the perfect guy for the job… If Sanzo-sama personally attacks Lirin, their beloved princess, and the Castle directly, imagine how crazy they will get. But, Dokugaku will be there to help her, of course."

A harrumph could be heard from Sanzo, who said, "Suit yourselves," as bluntly as ever. Deep down inside, Sanzo knew that the kappa with the red hair had almost an excellent idea, but he did not like the fact that he would be used as a decoy, in relative safety compared to the others who would be working inside.

Everything depended on timing. They had to work with extreme precision and not only that, they had to trust one another. "We'll act in groups," Kougaiji said, "Yaone and I will get Gyokumen Koshu, while Goku and Gojyo will cut down the main reactor."

"That leaves Hakkai and me with the secondary generator and the Nii Jienyi, while Sanzo, Dokugakuji and Lirin provide our cover," Ryurei concluded. "How long do we have for each task?" The answer was given by Yaone, stating that they had about forty-five minutes each, which included all of them regrouping in the main laboratory for the last showdown.

This was it, the last attempt to strike. If they failed, there would never be another chance to do so again, and they had better not mess it up. Determination, the need to succeed and the negation of any room for failure was written on all their faces. There had never been such an effort in the history of Togenkyo that six Youkai, a Goddess and a Sanzo priest would join forces to take down the experiments that would cause the ending of their world as they knew it.

"We attack at sundown tomorrow," Kougaiji said with a slight smirk. "That will give us enough time, wouldn't it?"

* * *

The sun was already setting when Kougaiji, Lirin, Yaone and Dokugakuji left. Ryurei was on the roof of the inn, drinking a glass of wine as usual. That would be the last sunset that they would see before they attacked Houtou Castle, and the last sunset they would be heading towards. She had been with Hakkai, Sanzo, Goku and Gojyo for only the past six months, while they had been travelling together for close to three years, there was no doubt that they had been through thick and thin together, their bonds of friendship and brotherhood stronger than ever.

"Have you ever thought of what you'd do when we got back?" Goku asked all of them, "If we can get back, that is…" Although their plans were immaculate, there would be no telling whether or not they would make it alive, heck; there was even no telling if they would succeed at all.

"I would have to find another job, I suppose," Hakkai said with a slight chuckle. "The school would have found a replacement for me anyways."

Gojyo exhaled a puff of cigarette smoke and said, "I would be back in the arms of my girls, gambling and drinking all day… What about you, hime-sama?"

Ryurei's eyes widened for a moment. She never really thought about it, because all she wanted to do was to fight beside them, and to make sure that all of them were safe. Up until then, she had really never considered what she was going to do after they had completed their mission. "For one thing, I would go back up there and kick my brother's ass," she told them, "He had me cooped up in Heaven for far too long. There are so many things I want to see and do here, but I really never had the chance to."

Hakkai took her hand in his and squeezed it. "We'll do it all on the return journey," he told her with a smile, earning a few "aww" sounds from Goku and Gojyo, while she turned away, hiding the evident blush on her face.

"When this is all over, I would be glad that I can finally get rid of you idiots," Sanzo added. However, it was just a mere show. They knew that he cared for them, even if he appeared to be cold and uncaring. It was just the way he was, hard on the outside, and soft from within, most of all, to Goku, and that, Ryurei knew most of all. Goku was the one who had turned the haughty aristocrat that was Konzen Douji into a God that was all flesh and blood, a God that would actually fight for what he had wanted. The child was the sun that gave all of them light, and she should have been jealous that they did everything they had done just for him 500 years ago, to some extent.

Standing up, Ryurei told them, "Nothing would happen to us, I promise you." The reds and the oranges of the setting sun made her hair seem as if it was burning with a golden fire, her smile ever-evident. "The day after tomorrow, we would greet the rising sun with victory and we will head towards it, with no fail."

Gojyo stood up as well, and put his arms on her shoulders and Hakkai's. "That's a little cheesy, but since you're a Goddess, I'll let that slide," he told her, "But we'll all make it, the kuso-bozu will kill us if we don't, won't you, Sanzo-sama?"

"Hmph that would depend on whether or not you make it out alive," Sanzo replied. "I have no intention of dying in there at all." But if he had to, he would gladly do so. If all they needed was one sacrifice, it would be the price he would willingly pay, for the safety of all. He was a Sanzo, and to protect was his duty, the burden that he had willingly taken ever since he was of twelve years of age. But he knew that all of them carried the same thoughts, because they knew that their survival would mean little if there was no one in the world to share it with.

* * *

Playlist:

Ryurei and Hakkai: Saya's Love, Blood+

Discussion scene: Departure, Rurouni Kenshin

Sunset: Kuon No Kawa (大江东去）, Alan, Red Cliff Part 2 OST


	11. Beginnings

"Whoa, is this what you call battle-armor?" Gojyo asked Ryurei when she emerged from the bathroom in her gown of chain-mail and her other weapons. She smiled, and told him that the soldiers of the Western Army had nothing but leather suits. In the least, her chain-mail was made from the lightest alloys, enabling greater mobility and protection at the same time. "Well, tell your brother that he has nothing to worry about, you have us to take care of you."

"Hmph, if you have forgotten, Ryurei was sent down to take care of _you_," Sanzo gruffly replied, kicking Gojyo aside, causing Ryurei to break into laughter. With them around, there would never be a dull moment, and she could never pull a straight face whenever she was with them for at least five seconds. Hakkai stood beside her, and held his hand on her shoulder, silently conveying the thoughts already obvious between them.

Just before they left for the rendezvous point where they would meet Kougaiji, she stood before them and said, "I would not be much of a Goddess if I did not have gifts to bestow on you before meeting impending doom," giving them each their own flower, all of them white in color. "Sanzo, this lily is for you, you might not remember seeing it, but let it be known that it is still a lily even if it seems like it has been stained with blood," she told Sanzo, handing him a lily with red speckles on the inside of its petals, red like the color of blood.

Gojyo's was a huge chrysanthemum, shaped almost like a crab. "Never let what shadows of your past haunt your future, Gojyo," she told him with a firm smile. "Soon, you would never have to fight like this, ever again, and you would finally meet with your brother, without considering whose side you are on." It was an open secret that Dokugakuji was Gojyo's half-brother. The family resemblance was too great to ignore anyways. Secretly , he smirked at the fact that chrysanthemums were the only flowers he had not tried giving to his stepmother.

"Goku, this sunflower is for you," Ryurei told Goku, giving him a white sunflower that was larger than normal. Ruffling his hair as she always did, she gazed into his golden eyes and added, "Never stop being the Sun, Goku…" He did not understand what she had just said, but nodded just as well. As she always said, he would understand when he was older.

There was no surprise that Hakkai received a rose. "The black roses that I loved, should have been white," she told him, with a sheepish smile. "The idiot I sent it for Quality Control put it in his ink-pot, and they became black… I intended to give it to the God I loved, but I did not have the chance… Hakkai, this is for you," she told him, turning the white rose into a grey one with a wave of her hand. "For you represent both my past, and my future."

Holding her hand as she gave him the rose, Hakkai pulled Ryurei into his arms, not caring if the other three were watching them. "We'll make it," he whispered into her ear, his embrace doing more than to reassure her. "I know it."

* * *

_The bunker in the forests lead straight to the laboratories,_ Kougaiji's voice rang in Ryurei and Hakkai's heads. _Anything or anyone that enters through there would be in direct view of Nii Jienyi. Hakkai, Ryurei-sama, we're depending on you to take down the second reactor and get the Muten-Kyou from him. _ Trudging through the dark, dense forest, Ryurei and Hakkai looked at one another as they uncovered the entrance of the bunker. _Be careful, we don't know what terrors he has there_.

* * *

Goku and Gojyo were standing at the rock face nearest to the north wing of the Castle, where the main reactor was held. Using the Nyoi-bou and the Shakujou, the two of them successfully got onto the balcony unnoticed, and proceeded to get it. _Once you are in, head for the big metal door at the end of the corridor. I will give you the password, but there's no telling if anyone has changed it. If you can't pass it, send out a distress signal, and Yaone would come help you. _The two of them looked into the corridor, which was relatively empty. So far so good.

* * *

"Look, there's Lirin-sama!" the Youkai at the main gates shouted as Sanzo began firing at Lirin, who was running towards the castle. "And there's Genjyo Sanzo… Quickly, get more reinforcements, we must protect Lirin-sama!"

_The ones protecting the front entrance are the most gullible, so Sanzo and Lirin would not have any problem deceiving them. _

As predicted, they began to send group after group of Youkai that came filing in from the drawbridge. Thankfully, Ryurei had provided him with a few tricks of her own. Quickly, he reloaded his Shorei-jyu with bullets that would grow into seeds upon contact with flesh, turning the victims into plant-like Shikigami-esque beings, and would attack anyone he ordered to.

"Sorry, Sanzo, but there's gonna be some form of resistance!" Dokugakuji exclaimed, jumping right before Sanzo, for Lirin's "defense". Before the attacking Youkai, the two of them began to be engaged in combat, with Sanzo narrowly "missing" Dokugakuji, hitting the Youkai behind him instead.

"Tch," he cursed, "Take those bastards down!" They might be acting, but Dokugakuji was actually acting very, very well. Every single punch was real, but it did not matter. He would have to launch his payback after the ordeal.

Once Lirin was safely inside the Castle, the real fun part started. Summoning his sword into his hands, Dokugakuji began killing the Youkai instead, and told Sanzo to find his way to the basements, to regroup with Hakkai and Ryurei. There would be no doubt that the alarm had already been sounded, Houtou Castle was being attack from within, and from the outside.

* * *

It was quiet, deathly quiet. Kougaiji and Yaone walked together into the corridors that led to the private quarters of Gyokumen Koshu, where she would always be, either having one of her "toys" or just dwelling in her own maniacal plans of world domination. "Kougaiji, I should have known that you had the gall to stage such an act," his step-mother told him. "And I used to think that you would do everything to bring your mother back to life…"

Yaone came to his defense quickly, even if they could not see where she was, hidden in the blood-red velvet fabrics that adorned her chambers. "Kougaiji-sama has found his own way to save Rasetsunyo-sama!" she exclaimed, only to feel a hard impact, flinging her to the wall.

"Yaone!" Kougaiji shouted, and was stopped by an unseen force before he could even move to check on her. He knew that it was Gyokumen Koshu, there could be no end else. Finally, she had revealed her true power.

The glowing jade-colored hair and eyes of the female tyrant could be seen, and she held her long fingers around Kougaiji's neck. "You have reached the end of my patience, Kougaiji, you and your pitiful mother would meet a messy end, and your corpses will kiss the feet of your father when he rises from the dead!"

"I don't think so," Kougaiji replied coldly. "I would never allow anything like Chichiue to create any more damage to this world!" He had never agreed with his father's actions, in eating humans alive, and sometimes even Youkai. That was why he did not act when the armies of Heaven closed in around them, that was why he did not shed a tear when his father lied in a massive puddle of blood, and that was why he had agreed to help the Sanzo-ikkou on their mission. More would die if his father was allowed to live, and those that he loved would suffer. It was a price that he would never agree to pay…

Her hold on his neck tightened, and he let out a scream that vibrated throughout the Castle.

* * *

Ryurei and Hakkai were greeted by a tall, lanky human in a lab coat and glasses. He had quite the amount of stubble on his chin, and a little bunny plushie beside him. There was a half-burnt cigarette still in his mouth. The power that came from this man, it was staggering. It was really hard to believe that this man was a Sanzo, anyone else would have deemed him to be something else.

The mark of the chakra was given to the Gods, and those who were close to them in rank and in power. Usually, in Togenkyo, these were the Sanzo priests, but this man, he was a Sanzo, and bore greater powers than the common Sanzo. He was the one who had succeeded the Sanzo before him by killing him in cold blood, as part of a challenge to find the perfect inheritor of the Muten-Kyou.

"I have been expecting you, Ryurei-hime," Nii Jienyi turned his chair towards Ryurei and Hakkai. "And you too, Cho Hakkai, wait, wait, wait, sorry, I meant, Tenpou Gensui." His sly grin increased in intensity the moment he saw emerald and sapphire eyes widen in shock. "You'd think a Heavenly military man as illustrious as you would ever escape my notice?"

It mattered not, whatever he knew, and it did not matter. They had a mission to accomplish, and they would do it, by any means possible. "Surrender, Ukoku Sanzo, and I would consider letting you live," Ryurei said, raising her hand. Vines began to rise from the metal floors, and soon, Nii Jienyi was wrapped in them. "Now, hand over the Muten-Kyou, and we'll settle this amicably."

There was no need for him to struggle, no need for him to do anything. The vines that held him seconds ago had all disappeared into black shadow. Utter nothingness, the power of the Muten-Kyou. "Naturally, as a Sanzo, it is my responsibility not to hand my Kyoumon to just anyone," he told Ryurei, holding the plushie in his hands, waving it to her. "Let us see how your dear Field Marshal will protect you when he is subject to the Minus Wave, shall we?" With a touch of a button, a column of light was projected towards Hakkai, who had tried to deflect it using a Ki-shield.

Even if Hakkai was able to successfully shield himself from the first blast, many more gun-like contraptions appeared before him, all aiming at him in point-blank range. "Hakkai!" Ryurei shouted, and glared at Nii Jienyi, her sapphire eyes glowing with a blue light that illuminated most of the room. He was thrown across the room, and right up towards the ceiling before his body was sent plummeting to the floor.

Quickly destroying the machinery around him with a blast of Ki, Hakkai freed himself and ran towards Ryurei, who was standing over Nii Jienyi. The scientist got up, and snapped his fingers. In an instant, everything that was behind them began to be sucked into a dark shadow, as though a black hole had been formed then and there.

"So long, Ryurei-hime!" he shouted, running towards the other end of the room even as the lights went out. So, their cohorts were able to cut down the power from the main reactor… It mattered little, though. They would all be consumed by the power of the Muten-Kyou. There would be no escape from the infinite nothingness of death!

He watched as the two lovers struggled to hold on to one another, and he laughed. He had challenged a Goddess, and she was having a hard time trying to get out of the mess that he had created for her.

"On Mani Hatsu Mei Un… Makai Tenjyo!"

It was not Genjyo Sanzo that spoke those words, but the clear bell-like voice of Ryurei-hime. Bright light started to fill the room, and standing before him was the Goddess of Flowers, ready for battle, her lover by her side with the Ki-blast that managed to divert his attention, the void that he had created, sealed with the light.

"And now, our fun begins…" he smiled, watching the Goddess charge towards him with her katana.

* * *

Playlist:

Gift-giving scene: May it be, Enya, Fellowship of the Ring OST.

Kougaiji VS Gyokumen Koshu: Blood+ Final Battle, Blood+

Ryurei and Hakkai VS Nii Jienyi: The Black Gate Opens, Return of the King OST


	12. Desperation

_Until now, we do not know the extent of your powers_, Kanzeon Bosatsu told Ryurei just before she had descended from Heaven. She was created by the Kyoumon, and now, Ryurei knew that she could use the power of the Kyoumon, without them being physically there. With the power of the Maten-Kyou she sealed the void that Nii Jienyi had created, while Hakkai shot a blast of Ki towards him, a dual attack that would give them enough time to recover.

"Hakkai, you need to get to the second reactor now," Ryurei told him, unsheathing her katana, one hand on his shoulder. "I'll take care of him, no problem." Hakkai nodded, and pulled her in for a quick kiss before he went into the other chamber. Entering her battle-stance, she started to attack Nii Jienyi, running towards him with the great speed given to her race, and managed to slash his arm before he used Houjutsu to repel her away from him. "Not so cocky now, I presume?" Ryurei asked him, the blue light in her sapphire eyes subsiding.

Nii Jienyi stood up and waved his hand, and Ryurei could feel something cutting through her flesh. Soon, blood started to flow from a wound in her arm that had not been there in the first place. If she was not born a Dragon-goddess, she would most definitely be dead. "Come, surely a Goddess from Heaven itself can do better than this," he told her, opening his arms to her. "We shall dance the dance of death, and we shall see who the final victor is!"

Green light was met with black shadow, and a great explosion ensued when both powers met in between.

* * *

Kougaiji heard Yaone crying his name, and it was enough for him to quickly summon a burst of flames that caused Gyokumen Koshu to drop him. "Kougaiji-sama!" she called once again, running to his side. "Are you alright?"

Nodding his head, Kougaiji told her to step back. Hours upon hours of training meant that he was now able to summon his spells at a faster rate, and that was what he did. Unleashing the Engokuki at Gyokumen Koshu, he watched in utter horror as she dispelled it with a jade wall that she summoned out of thin air. "Looks like the little prince has a few tricks up his sleeve," she teased, turning the jade wall into shards of jade that she sent flying towards Kougaiji and Yaone, piercing their flesh, and cutting them in every place imaginable.

Without uttering a sound, Kougaiji shielded his body over Yaone's, receiving the brunt of the attack, much to her anguish. Screaming in pain, there was nothing that she could do for him… All her attacks were ranged, and Gyokumen Koshu was right in front of them. The sudden darkness did not deter her, Youkai could see better in the dark than mere humans.

"It is useless to resist!" Gyokumen Koshu proclaimed, and raised her clawed hands high above her head, prepared for the kill.

Just then, a chain-like object wrapped around her raised arm, and pulled it backwards, causing her to scream in pain while a sickle pierced into her back. "Sorry, but we can't allow you to do that," Gojyo said, while Goku quickly got to Yaone and Kougaiji. "We'll need you to come with us quietly and no one will get hurt, even more."

Gyokumen Koshu glared at them, her cold gaze filled with poison, but nothing seemed to happen. Gojyo had his sickle embedded in a special part in her vertebrae that would negate the use of Youkai powers… A clever ploy, but not clever enough… She snapped her fingers, expecting her many elite bodyguards to come to her rescue, only to find that they were already dead.

Mirroring her words, Kougaiji stood over her and said, "Gyokumen Koshu, it is useless to resist. I suggest you come with us, if you wish to live."

* * *

An explosion could be heard from the exterior of the laboratories when Sanzo, Dokugakuji and Lirin were at the corridors that led to it, flashes of light could be seen, and out of a sudden, the wall that separated them from the inner sanctums of the laboratories disappeared into nothingness, revealing the damage and destruction from within.

"Sanzo!" Ryurei shouted, hurling a blast of green light towards Nii Jienyi, "Get away from here!" Leaping high into the air, she evaded another blast of black energy from her opponent, and threw in a couple more of her own. There was no more time to be spared, any moment now; Hakkai should have been able to destroy the second reactor.

Sensing Sanzo's presence, Nii Jienyi quickly directed another blast towards the blond priest, and Sanzo's fate seemed imminent, if Hakkai had not cast a shield around him in the nick of time. The sound of machinery dying down was accompanied with Sanzo's chanting, soon, more explosions followed.

"Makai Tenjyo!" Sanzo shouted when Hakkai's shield disappeared, the light of the Maten-Kyou's power filling the laboratory, destroying every trace of the Youjutsu that was paired with the scientific equipments. Ryurei stood behind Sanzo, holding his shoulders with her hands, backing him up with the power of the Goddess.

The plan seemed to have worked, and the moment Kougaiji and the others arrived with Gyokumen Koshu, everything was destroyed. "Now, open the chamber where you held the Kyoumon," Ryurei commanded the both of them. "It is over."

Gyokumen Koshu looked at her and laughed. "Do you think the mere destruction of our laboratories would suffice to stop us?" she asked Ryurei, cold rage burning in her jade eyes. "We can easily repair the damage that you have caused just as quickly as we have built them!" The process would take about a decade, and by then, even more Youkai would have fallen victim to the Minus Waves, killing thousands more humans. The world would be in utter chaos, and even Heaven would not be able to stop them.

Ryurei had no time to listen to a madwoman's rabble. Once again, her sapphire eyes lit up in blue light, and she flung Gyokumen Koshu towards the Kyoumon's chamber, leaving the bone that Gojyo had pierced still attached to the ends of the sickle on his Shakujou. Before she was able to breathe her last, Ryurei pressed her finger against the controls, lighting up the first of a set of lights. They just needed Nii Jienyi's fingerprints, and they would be home free.

Lirin watched as the Goddess of Flowers killed her mother, and said nothing. True, Gyokumen Koshu was her mother, but all her life, she had not felt a bit of love from her. Even if she was still a child, she could understand that she was alive only because of Gyokumen Koshu's plans for the resurrection of her father, her father that killed so many innocent beings before they were all sealed by the Toushin Taishi and his Heavenly Army. However, she was still shedding tears, looking at the green heap that was now her mother's corpse, and no one did anything to stop her. Yaone wrapped her arms around her to comfort her, while the others directed their energies towards Nii Jienyi.

"Well, that was unexpected," Nii Jienyi said, adjusting his glasses. Looking at Ryurei, he said, "I thought that the Gods are not allowed to kill, and yet, you so gruesomely killed by benefactress… What do you have to say for yourself, Ryurei-hime?"

Pointing her katana towards him, she replied, "I am the Toushin Taishi, naturally, I am allowed to kill. Heck, it is now my duty to kill scumbags like you!"

Flame, light, staff, sickle and bullets started to charge towards Nii Jienyi, but with one more black vacuum, all of them were absorbed into the vast nothingness. "Nothing can stand against me and the power of the Muten-Kyou!" Nii Jienyi shouted.

"He's breaking!" Hakkai exclaimed, noticing the sickening calmness around him going away, replaced by a manic sense of destruction and rage. There was a strange light in those black eyes, and it was not the light held by an otherwise ingenious and collected man. Every single calculated step, every single ounce of energy put into trying to overcome even himself, it was gone now.

The vacuum grew bigger and bigger, threatening to consume everything around it, just like the one he had summoned earlier. Ryurei watched as each one of them got sucked in closer and closer, and she knew what she must do. Closing her eyes, she reached for the power of the Kouten-Kyou, and filled the void with the Unknown and the Infinite, ending the siege of the vacuum.

It was impossible! Nii Jienyi did not believe it. First, she could use the power of the Maten-Kyou, and now, the Kouten-Kyou, and still, she stood there without a hair out of place! What was she really? She was the Goddess of Flowers, and now, the Toushin-Taishi, her powers only went out to creating the flora of the world, and not the power of the Kyoumon… or was it?

Sanzo's eyes widened at the realization of what Ryurei was about to do. Yet, she spoke nothing of it, except to leave it to her. There had to be some way to get the Kyoumon out before it was too late, there just had to… At this rate, all would be destroyed if Nii Jienyi did not stop using the power of the Muten-Kyou, and all that they had been through would be for naught. Stopping at his tracks, he knew that he had a clear shot at Nii's vital organs, and if his aim was true, they could get him to open the chamber before he died, just like what they did to Gyokumen Koshu.

"Well, what are you waiting for, Genjyo Sanzo?" Nii Jienyi asked Sanzo with a raised eyebrow, "Aren't you going to shoot me, or are you too scared?"

It was not hesitation that slowed Sanzo's hands, it was the glimmer of weapons all around them that stopped him from shooting. Hundreds, no thousands of bows, arrows, guns and swords reflecting the moonlight, lining the circular base of the Castle… The levels that used to stand above them had all been consumed by the Muten-Kyou, leaving only the chamber where the Kyoumon were held, and the sarcophagus that held the corpse of Gyumaoh.

At the center of the glimmering weapons, was a figure clad in turquoise, tall with scales prominently shown on his features. Ryurei looked up and instantly knew who that was, it was her brother, Gojun, the leader of the Western Army of Heaven!

"Nii Jienyi, surrender now before the might of Heaven's Armies!" Gojun commanded, baring his dragon-fangs. The weapon in his hand, the famous broadsword shone with the light that equaled the light of the moon. If Ryurei had been an impressive character, this God, the Dragon-King, was just as potent in his authority and iron-will.

Most of the Youkai that not been consumed by the vacuum, or that survived the attacks of the other warriors immediately threw down their arms, and cowered before such an impressive force. But Ryurei knew that it was not that simple. Something was lurking in Nii Jienyi's mind, and she knew that no good would come of it.

"All right, all right, if it is the Kyoumon you want, it is the Kyoumon you get, the Muten-Kyou, the Seitien-Kyou, the Kouten-Kyou, and the Uten-Kyou, with the Maten-Kyou that you have…" Nii Jienyi said, placing his hands above his head and walking towards the chamber. Once he opened it, a dark energy began to concentrate there, and something began to rise, a dark shadow… It was not Gyumaoh resurrected, or was it the power of the Muten-Kyou. Anger, violence, rage, hatred, all the dark energies of the world, personified in this one gust of power… It was nothing ever seen before.

Laughing maniacally, Nii Jienyi was caught by the energy before anyone could do anything, and was torn into shreds… Finally, he was able to die. It did not matter to him now, what happened to the world. He had changed the world, and turned it into utter darkness. Looking at Ryurei, the look of anger, mixed with confusion in her eyes, he was content. _Now, savor the true power of the darkness of the World._

"What's going on?" Goku asked, using the Nyoi-bou to stabilize himself. That Ki coming out of the Kyoumon, it was not natural at all, and he knew that there was no method that they were able to use to defeat it.

"It's the Kyoumon!" Sanzo exclaimed, whipping out his Shorei-jyu. "They have been in existence with the mixture of Youkai magic and science for too long… They might have been corrupted!" If that was only the power of the three Kyoumon, he shuddered to think what would happen if the Maten-Kyou and the Muten-Kyou were thrown into the mix.

Gojun looked at the proceedings and came to the conclusion that this would be the bitter end of the world. The Tenchi Kaigen Kyoumon were used to create the World, and all that existed, and if they had the power to destroy, there would be nothing able to stop them. "Men, extricate the Sanzo-ikkou and those Youkai who had helped them," he ordered his soldiers, sheathing his katana.

One by one, the Heavenly soldiers did as they were told, but none of them were able to move anyone. Gojyo looked up and Gojun and shouted, "Hey, Dragon-King are you crazy? All of us came this far to solve the problem for you, and you're not going to stop us!"

There was no time for any more arguments, there was only one way. Exchanging a knowing glance with Sanzo, Ryurei started to chant with Sanzo, the words written within the Maten-Kyou and the Muten-Kyou respectively. They had to use the power of the Muten-Kyou to absorb the darkness of the corrupted Kyoumon, and to vanquish it at the same time.

In mere seconds, the howling winds that had been formed started to die down, Ryurei and Sanzo's voices filling the entire area, clearer than the morning sun, more terrible the strike of lightning. A halo of light was formed around them, and in perfect unison, the Kyoumon were activated, wrapping the dark energy, subsiding, halting it before it could do any damage.

"Sanzo!" Goku shouted as the priest coughed blood and lost all consciousness, and Ryurei nodded at him with a smile.

"Goku, take care of Sanzo for me, would you?" she asked the boy, gathering each of the Kyoumon in her hands. They no longer were corrupted, but they were still needed for one purpose. "He will be fine in a few hours, but don't let him smoke for a few weeks."

"Ryurei-nee, what are you doing?" Goku asked, tears nearly forming in his golden eyes. Ryurei, she sounded as if she was going away, as if she knew that she was going to die. He did not want her to leave him, he wanted her to stay with him, to tell him the stories of Heaven, and the flowers that she had made.

Ryurei smiled, and ruffled his hair before turning away from him. "Gojyo, you too, if you smoke and drink like the way you do, you will die before you are fifty," she told Gojyo with a stern smile. "And please, look after Hakkai and Hakuryu for me."

One by one, she put the Tenchi Kaigen Kyoumon in the shape of a star, including the Maten-Kyou, which she had slipped from Sanzo's shoulders. Her sapphire eyes then turned to Gojun, standing high above her. "Onii-sama, you came to help me, thank you so much!" tears were already in her eyes, but her smile was still there. "I had always dreamed of this day, where we could be at the battlefield together, all of us, and now, it finally came true… But Onii-sama, I know that I have to do this on my own, this is why I am alive, and this is why I was created for…"

The very moment she stepped into the center of the star that she had created, white lightning started to rise from each of the Kyoumon. Hakkai alone knew that was happening. Ryurei would use the power of the Kyoumon to reverse every single form of damage that the experiments had created, down to the last leaf the Minus Waves had caused to fall.

"Ryurei!" he shouted, but she could not hear him anymore.

* * *

Playlist:

Nii Jienyi "crazy mode": The End of All Things, Return of the King, OST

Ryurei and the Kyoumon: Amakakeru-Ryu-No-Hirameki, Hiko's Theme, Rurouni Kenshin.


	13. Breakthroughs

Light… Pure light, followed by fire, water, wood, metal and earth… White, red, blue, silver, brown and green flying through the air, filling the span between Heaven and Earth… In five straight columns, light shot forth into the skies and below the ground, spreading from the ruins of Houtou Castle, chasing the stars away, and the moon.

In Changan city, tremors of the earth could be felt, and the Youkai that had been driven out of the city when the Minus Waves had begun found their appetite for human flesh disappearing, their senses returning to them. The bloodlust deep within them ended. Bearing down their weapons, one by one, they ran to Sha-Yong-Den, the Palace of the Setting Sun to beg forgiveness of the Sanbutsushin for their past actions that had been so clear to them.

The forests that had been rendered dead were filled with green leaves once again, rivers that had run dry were gushing with water, and oases that were reduced into mere pools of water were restored to their former lush beauty. Grasslands that were turned into wastelands were grasslands once more, bridges that had been broken down restored…

Fields of wheat, corn, rice, barley, those that sustained life, they were all returned. The birds and the beasts that had been killed over the torment of the Waves, restored to life. And all eyes turned towards the strange lights that appeared in the western skies…

Tales would be sung of that mysterious night, when the Youkai no longer attacked the humans, when dry lakes became filled with water once again, and howling storms that seemed eternal died down. No one knew who did it, or what had happened. Many claimed it to be a miracle, that the Gods had finally answered their prayers, that they were finally free from living their lives in fear.

Hakkai watched as the lights continued to shine, growing only in intensity, and he began to feel Ryurei's power waning. He was watching the woman that he loved die before him yet again, and there was nothing he could do. Clenching his fists, he watched as more and more miracles were created, the dead land around Houtou Castle becoming fields of flowers and green grass… So, this was the power of the Key of Life… It was the ability to use the power of the Kyoumon to create and restore Life in the World, but at what price?

For the longest time, those in the vicinity of Houtou Castle watched on, not knowing when will the light end, but from there, all of them, they could feel the hurts of the world healing, and they could feel the forces of nature rejoicing. Birds sang songs of joy, but those at Houtou Castle, they could not afford such luxury.

They did not know how long it took for the lights to subside, and when they did, the Kyoumon were all there, wrapped neatly, vibrating at the presence of one another before stopping completely. Their powers were sealed once again, into the Kyoumon themselves, never to be activated unless by the command of the Sanzo priest entrusted to them. At the center of the star, was a large Dragon. It was Ryurei, in Dragon-form; her scales were white, reflecting a soft blue sheen under the moon light.

"Ryurei!" Hakkai called her name, and ran towards her. Just as his fingers touched her, yellow light shone from her, and once again, she took the form of the gold-haired Goddess that he had always known. She was weak, at the brink of death, and he held onto her, as if she would really die if he let her go. "You're safe now, I'm here…"

Ryurei coughed, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. "Hakkai…" she whispered his name, her smile still there, somehow stopping him from using his Ki to heal her, it would be of no use, she told him... "I honored my promise to you… The next time we fight side by side, I would not be as cruel as you are, I would at least say… goodbye…"

He would have none of it. "You're not going anywhere!" he exclaimed, looking into her sapphire eyes, eyes that no longer held the fire they once burned in. "You told us that we would do everything and anything on our journey back to Changan…" Thunder rolled, followed by lightning. Seconds later, rain started to fall, drenching them completely.

She shook her head, and put her hand to his cheek. Even his right eye was healed, she mused to herself, seeing that his monocle was no longer there. "Hakkai, you must be strong," she told him, "You have always been strong, for Goku, Gojyo and Sanzo… I need you to be strong for Onii-sama as well…" Slowly reaching for the dagger that he had given her, she said, "Forgive me, Hakkai… I cannot keep this dagger for you as long as I would like."

Hakkai pressed her fingers around it, tightening his hold over her hand. "You keep it, it is yours," he told her. At that moment, Sanzo stood over them, still weakened from the amount of power he had used. He took one of Ryurei's hands in his, his violet eyes holding an unreadable expression.

"Baka," Sanzo scolded her. "You lived this long for all of us, you can't give up now!" He had seen what had happened 500 years as well, he was Konzen Douji, Kanzeon Bosatsu's nephew, and her childhood friend, but even that did not matter. Ryurei smiled, and looked at Sanzo, who was followed with Gojyo and Goku, who spoke to her similar words.

"All of you look so scary," she told them, looking at each of them one last time. With every passing second, a little bit of her weakens, and by then, she tried hard even to breathe. "Hakkai…" she gasped, raising her head for a last kiss that he willingly obliged to give. He could not lose her, not now, not in the face of victory. Smiling, she rested in his arms, and murmured "I love you…"

* * *

Then and there, Ryurei-hime, the Dragon Princess closed her sapphire eyes, and felt the darkness of death engulf her. She could not hear Hakkai calling her name, nor could she hear her brother's roar of anguish. She could not even see her old friend, Rasetsunyo walking towards her, leaning against Kougaiji. But something strange happened. As soon as the darkness came, her vision was soon filled with light. When she had closed her eyes, she was in Hakkai's arms, but now, she could feel the hard, cold, floor of onyx beneath her.

"Why am I here?" she groaned, looking at Kanzeon Bosatsu before her, the tenderness of her voice just moments past replaced with one of cynical irony... This was not the fate that she had expected, not at all. She was at the lotus pond where the Goddess of Mercy loved to hang about, specially designed by her, of course.

Kanzeon Bosatsu smirked. "You mean, you do not know?" she asked incredulously, as though she had been taken down with the greatest insult. "I am here to offer you a reward, for your selfless efforts and whatnot."

Ryurei sensed that there had to be a trap, there just had to. Heaven was not really fair in the punishments and rewards that had given. Sometimes, it would be a reward if anyone was not punished by them. "What is it?" she asked.

"One, you would choose to stay here, and remain a Goddess, but you have to lay down your arms, and retake your post as the Flower Goddess, never to return to the Lower Realms for all eternity," Kanzeon Bosatsu said, holding up one finger. "Or, two, you can go back, but you'd have to be mortal, while still retaining your powers. However, it would take a massive amount of Karma to get back up here."

Ryurei did not say a word, looking into the water of the lotus pond, she could see everything that happened, no, was happening, in Houtou Castle. Hakkai was still holding her body, while Goku was weeping terribly. Her brother stood over them, his face expressionless, while Sanzo just knelt there, more or less shocked, just like Gojyo. "I have no regrets, even if I had no choice to make," she told Kanzeon Bosatsu, "I had fought beside the man I love, and those that I have missed the chance with... I have shown to all of you that I am not some pretty rose sitting in a glass vase all day, really, I can just die here and now, and I won't have a care."

Kanzeon Bosatsu chuckled. "Honey, anyone who knows you well knows that you have spunk, you'd want to live on and on until you really have to die," she told her, "But don't waste my time, I'm a busy person, you know." Truth be told, she already knew that Ryurei would decide, it was written so evidently on her face. However, the answer must come from Ryurei and Ryurei alone.

"I choose a mortal life," she told Kanzeon Bosatsu, "I would rather spend one lifetime with Hakkai, Gojyo, Sanzo and Goku, than spend all the ages of Time alone." The same resolution was in her voice, and Kanzeon Bosatsu smiled at her decision.

"You have made a good choice there, but don't rejoice just yet," the older Goddess told her. "If you choose to go back, not only Hakkai must agree with you, so must your brother." Oh, how fluently Ryurei cursed under her breath, and she enjoyed looking at those fiery sapphire eyes Ryurei had as she did so. "So, you'll have to wait here, while I gather the general consensus." With that, Kanzeon Bosatsu disappeared before Ryurei, and appeared in the lotus pond's reflection.

Even as the Dragon-King Gojun stood above him, red eyes filled with grief, Hakkai still held Ryurei's body tight in his arms. He knew that he would have to let her go sometime, but he did not wish to leave her. He heard the sound of ringing bells, and everything around him seemed to stop short. "A great loss to the World, indeed," he heard a female voice say as she walked towards him. It was Kanzeon Bosatsu. "But, what a victory that you have created… You should be congratulated, Cho Hakkai."

Hakkai glanced at the Goddess of Mercy, and told her, "For me, the price was too great…" He loved Ryurei in his past life, he loved her now, and there would be nothing to change it. Her smile, her voice… It was everything to him. The past six months that they had been together, it was too short.

"She loved you dearly, it is true," Kanzeon Bosatsu told him softly, "and for five hundred years, the flowers in Heaven were less fair than the flowers here, ever since all of you were exiled here."

"You are one of the Five Bodhisattvas," Hakkai told her, "Is there any chance at all, that you would bring her back?"

Strangely enough, Kanzeon Bosatsu nodded, "But that depends on a myriad of conditions, including the blessing of the Dragon-King, as well." Hakkai knew that Gojun would be hard put to allow his dear sister to be in the mortal world, to suffer the pain of death and old age that would surely come should she choose a mortal life… Deep down, he knew that it was a selfish choice, but he had too, he could not imagine a life without Ryurei, not since she came back to him. "If that is your choice, then so be it," she told him with a smile, and just as soon as she had come, she vanished.

"Your sister has suffered much these five hundred years," Gojun heard the voice of Kanzeon Bosatsu, and she appeared right beside him. "Her death will be one mourned for by the many thousands that she had saved tonight."

Gojun would mourn the most, he was mourning as she spoke to him. They were the last Dragons in Heaven, and he loved her dearly, even if she was marginally younger than he was. Their parents had been killed in the last Dragon-Wars, leaving only the two of them to fend for themselves in a court that was soon founded over fear, lies and deceit. When she had come to him, telling him that she had fallen in love with one of his subordinates, he said nothing, demanding only that the man gave her a future filled with light, but that man died in Heaven over a rebellion aimed to protect Heaven from Li Touten's schemes… Five hundred years later, that man was reborn into Cho Hakkai, who knelt before him, holding on to his sister's body to the last shred of his being… "I know that you have the power to bring her back," he told Kanzeon Bosatsu, "and I know that there will be a price."

It was not strange that Kanzeon Bosatsu would give a cynical chuckle, and nod at his words. "Indeed, there is a price, Gojun. If she chooses to remain in Heaven, she will never come back here again, while if she chooses to come here, she can never go back up there."

"She loves that man so much, what difference would it be to her between dying and going back to Heaven?" he asked her, not really demanding an answer. He knew Ryurei the most and he could see through the mask that she had been keeping for the past 500 years. "Let her come back here, at least, she would be happy for the rest of her days." With that, Kanzeon Bosatsu disappeared, and time continued to flow again.

* * *

Ryurei watched as Kanzeon Bosatsu gathered Hakkai and Gojun's answers. "You heard them," the Goddess of Mercy said when she returned beside her. "Go to them."

Walking into the center of the lotus pond, Ryurei waited as a soft light engulfed her, sending her plummeting back into the mortal world. Opening her eyes, Hakkai came into her field of vision, and so did Gojun. "Hakkai… Onii-sama…" she called, a smile forming on her lips.

"Ahou, you scared us half to death back there!" Sanzo scolded, and for a moment then, she expect to receive a hit from his harisen, but nothing came. "Never. Do. That. Again!"

Smiling, she nodded, much to everyone's relief. "Onii-sama," she said to Gojun. "Forgive me…" Gojun returned the same smile to her, and told her that he understood her choice. She would never be truly happy if she was to remain in Heaven with him alone.

"I want you to be happy," he told her, holding her hand one last time. They had been so small against his scaled ones, but now, they were long, white and slender. Turning to Hakkai, he said, "You might not remember me, Cho Hakkai, but in your past life, I have told you that you could only marry her if you can build a future with her filled with light… I see it now, that light was always with you, it shines in your love, and the bonds that you have with your friends… Take care of her, or my army and I will not be far behind you."

Hakkai nodded and bowed to the Dragon-King. "I will protect her with my life," he told Gojun, before exchanging a tender glance with Ryurei. Gojun smiled, his fangs still visible, and saluted Hakkai as his brother before allowing everyone else to crowd around his sister... She was in good hands now, it was time that he let her go.

"So, what do we do now?" Goku asked, happy that Ryurei was not going anywhere without them. This time, the answer was enough to garner a hit on his head with Sanzo's harisen. "Why did you do that for?"

Picking up two of the Kyoumon without even needed to make sure that they were Seiten-Kyou and the Maten-Kyou, Sanzo straightened up and pointed towards the rising sun. "We're going back." It had been a three year journey to get to Tenjiku, and they would take less time to get back to Changan, because the challenges that they had to face on the way had all been removed.

"Not so fast," Kougaiji said, stopping them. "I will not allow you go to that fast, not after what you have done." Lifting his head up, he revealed the smile on his face. "You have honored your part of the bargain and brought my mother back, we won't kick you out just yet."

There was something about the Youkai-Prince that Ryurei could never put her finger on. Rasetsunyo smiled at her son, and held her hand on Lirin's shoulder. Theirs was a family remade and healed. "Please, stay until your wounds have healed," she said to the Sanzo-ikkou. "It would be our greatest honor."

Exhaling a deep puff of cigarette smoke, Sanzo looked at the Youkai-Queen and said, "Hmph, suit yourself." It was a yes.

* * *

Playlist:

Restoration of nature scenes: At Wit's End, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End OST, preferably Heaven and Earth (Land theme), Kitaro

Ryurei dying: Permanent, David Cook

Ryurei resurrected: To Where You Are, Josh Groban, or the Rose, Westlife and 木兰星 (Mulan's Star), 张靓颖 （Jane Zhang), 花木兰 (Mulan, not the Disney version) OST

Sanzo pointing east: Life in Technicolor II, Coldplay


	14. Endings

After the destruction of Houtou Castle, a makeshift fortress was erected in lieu of its reconstruction, housing doctors, engineers, spell-casters, all those who would help rebuild a new Houtou Castle, Youkai and Human alike. It was to be the symbol of a new age. In the meantime, priests from both races came to Tenjiku as well, to gather in a special election to select the other three Sanzo priests.

"Who would have known that we would actually see Youkai and Humans working together," Gojyo commented, looking at the hubbub below the window of his room. His wounds had healed completely, albeit for his broken leg. Yaone blamed it on his excessive smoking for his slow recovery, but he waved it away with a puff of cigarette smoke.

Gojun expelled the cloud of carbon monoxide with a swipe of his clawed fingers and replied, "It had always been like that, you fume-emitting ahou." He alone of the Western Army decided to remain to help out with whatever that was needed of him. Granted, he wanted to spend more time with his sister, and to broker some form of alliance with between Heaven and the Lower Realms. "It's just that you mortals would find any and every reason to fight against one another."

Hakuryu, who was resting on Gojun's shoulders, looked at Gojyo and added a stern "Kyuu!" to back Gojun up. The little dragon was extremely partial to Ryurei and Gojun, besides Hakkai, and they had concluded that he was part of their clan, seeing that the Dragons of the Western Oceans were all white, explaining the little one's attachment to them.

"Now, now, Onii-sama, if we mortals were not that troublesome, you would be already out of work," Hakkai replied, coming in with Gojyo's lunch. Oh yes, he loved to torture the Dragon-King with the fact that he was going to be his brother in-law soon. Gojun deemed it as "karma biting in him in his Heavenly Dragon-ass" as Goku so kindly put it. How he wished that they were right back 500 years ago, then, he would have a great reason to get some payback of his own.

And to his chagrin, Sanzo agreed with Hakkai. Wait a minute, was a Sanzo not supposed to be an intermediary between the Gods and the mortals?

* * *

"Look at them, shouting and brawling like children," Ryurei complained to Rasetsunyo, the both of them having full view of their window from the latter's chambers. "I can see an untold amount of headaches to come." Soon enough, Kougaiji, Dokugakuji and Lirin were thrown into the mix, and the room became even noisier than the construction site just beside them.

"Do Goddesses even get headaches?" Rasetsunyo asked her, with a raised eyebrow. She knew little of the Gods, but they were immortal, and were generally free from illnesses. Granted, Ryurei had chosen a mortal life, but did that mean that she had assumed mortal biology? Before jumbling her head with biological complexities, she did notice one thing. Ryurei seemed freer than she had been 500 years ago, as if the weight on her shoulders had been lifted, finally. Her smile, it was radiant than it ever was, but it was truer, in a sense.

Ryurei chuckled and took a sip of wine. "I have four right before me," she answered bluntly. "Five, including my brother." Of course, there would be Hakuryu as well, when he would assume his humanoid form. Living with them would ultimately take a toll on her sanity, and there was little wonder why Sanzo had so many wrinkles so young. "At least, you have little to worry now, my friend. Kougaiji will be the Maoh, the rule of the Youkai is now under a central government…"

"A King has many enemies, Ryurei-sama," Rasetsunyo replied, "I know that my son can handle them, but a mother's duties are never-ending." Ah, so she was implying that she wanted Kougaiji to marry soon. "And it seems that my son is rather easily manipulated by women." From villainous witches like Gyokumen Koshu to his own little sister, it was downright difficult for Kougaiji to free himself from the clutches around him.

"Then you must find a woman that does not even dare to try to manipulate him at all, or can do so just by casting her soft amethyst gaze on him," Ryurei said casually. "Someone with long, silky hair, and extensive knowledge in medicine and explosives, perhaps?" Of course, there would not be a better candidate for the position of the Queen than Yaone. The girl was unwaveringly loyal to Kougaiji, kind, wise, perfect, in other words. "If anyone dares to challenge dear Yaone, just tell them the Toushin Taishi is backing her."

Rasetsunyo pretended to shudder at Ryurei's threat. "But didn't the Toushin Taishi lay down her arms before the leader of the Heavenly Western Army?" she asked mischievously. Ryurei sipped her wine again and told the Youkai-woman that what the mortals did not know would not hurt them. "Ryurei-sama, you're as vicious as any politician, I expected better from a supposedly benevolent Goddess."

"When you live the most of your life with a stagnated post in a stagnated government, one gets… creative," was Ryurei's simple reply. "Now, will you excuse me, Rasetsunyo, I have five headaches to cure." Just a few minutes later, Rasetsunyo could see the room opposite her window being filled with vines, and silence overcame the inhabitants there. It remained that way for a few more hours, until dinner time, that was.

* * *

Soon, came the day that would mark the coming of a new age. It was a day of great significance, a day of celebration. Two months after the day the experiments of Gyumaoh's revival had ended, Humans and Youkai flocked their way to Tenjiku to witness two events that would lead to a new age of peace that would flood the annals of time in Togenkyo. It was the day where Prince Kougaiji would be crowned the High-King of the Youkai, or, the Maoh, and the day when the Maoh would sign a treaty of peace with all the leaders of the Humans, represented by Genjyo Sanzo.

When the time of the coronation had come, Kougaiji stood before Sanzo, his mother, and Ryurei, in silk robes fitting for a King, flanked by Yaone, Lirin, Hakkai, Gojyo, Dokugakuji and Goku, with Gojun acting as the witness and ambassador from Heaven. "Now come the days of the Maoh," Ryurei proclaimed, still acting as the "Toushin Taishi" despite her formal resignation. Laying the circlet on Kougaiji's head, bearing five stars that represent the Tenchi Kaigen Kyoumon, and a scepter with two joined hands: one of a Human's, and one of Youkai's into his hands, she smiled. "May they be ever blessed."

Kougaiji looked up at her and smiled as she did. Turning to look at his new subjects rejoicing the coming of their new King, Ryurei waved her hand and caused a shower of rose petals to fall like the rain and snow. "This day and age cannot be claimed by me alone," he said to the crowds. "With so many lives wasted and destroyed, only we can ensure a better future for our children by remembering the price we had to pay. That is why, I plead to my brethren and to the Humans of Togenkyo to lay down all arms, all weapons, to usher in a new age of peace."

Immediately, every single weapon held by Youkai and Human was thrown down at the feet of the Maoh, even Sanzo. "Tch, you'd better make sure that I won't have to use this anymore," he grumbled at Kougaiji. As the Shourei-Jyu laid amidst the now-burning pile, Sanzo was reminded of how many lives he had taken, from the day he inherited both the Seiten-Kyou and the Maten-Kyou up to that day. He was tired, they all were, tired of killing. They had all killed to survive, and they were tired of those days. And hopefully, there really would be peace in Togenkyo. It would be troublesome to find another trusty gun just like the Shourei-Jyu (only Smith and Wesson made them, apparently).

Coming in between Sanzo and Kougaiji, Ryurei tapped them lightly on the shoulders and gave them each their respective seals. "Maoh-heika, Genjyo Sanzo-sama," she addressed the two of them curtly. "It is time to settle this treaty once and for all."

The peace treaty was actually a piece of long silk, its contents embroidered word by word. The conditions were simple. Kougaiji and his descendants would be the Maoh for the duration of one hundred years to stabilize the Youkai population, and after that, the Youkai would elect their own Maoh for a period of thirty years each, since they generally lived longer than Humans did. One Sanzo priest would be elected as the representative of the Humans serving a five-year term, and every two years in Spring, both races would come together in Changan to celebrate the Lunar New Year and to renew their alliance. Any single Human or Youkai that bears any weapon against those of the other race would receive a death sentence if found guilty by a jury of their peers, while the creation of a single army of both races was agreed upon, for the safety of Togenkyo.

"It is a noble gesture," Gojun said, examining the treaty after it was sealed by Kougaiji and Sanzo. "But who will lead the new army?"

Kougaiji cast a sideways look at his friends, and said, "I have quite a handful who would be able to, don't worry." Although they were at first his enemies, Goku, Hakkai and Gojyo had became allies to him more than they were enemies, and Ryurei, nothing would have happened without her help. But of course, there were also Dokugakuji, who already took the post as a General, Yaone and Lirin.

"Glad that you think so highly of us, Kougaiji," Gojyo said, leaning on his Shakujou, "But I'll think that we'll pass…" There were similar expressions on the faces of the others as well, and Kougaiji did not understand. Who would pass up such an easy opportunity to gain power on both sides? What were they thinking about?

Hakkai was the one who explained, saying, "Well you see, Kougaiji-san, neither of us can quite be considered Youkai or Human, but that is besides the matter. We fight for no one but ourselves." So, that was the reason… Not only they were noble, they were extremely foolish as well.

"A wise priest once said, 'From the day I live, to the day I die, the only side that I am on is my own'" Ryurei said, her elbow resting on Sanzo's shoulder that now held two Kyoumon instead of one. "Anyways, I have had my share of a military position enough to last me a lifetime. I'll leave it to some unlucky bastard." Her service as the Toushin Taishi could have been the shortest ever in the annals of time, lasting for only six months, and although she commanded the bulk of Heaven's soldiers, she preferred to act alone, a rather different turn from her predecessors, but one that she had chosen.

There was nothing else to say. The five of them had all recovered from their injuries, and the peace treaty had been signed. There was nothing that held them back in Tenjiku anymore. "See you next Spring," Kougaiji said, before they went on Hakuryu, who had already transformed into their trusty vehicle.

"We'll have a showdown as always when you get to Changan!" Goku challenged, waving all the others goodbye.

Three years ago, the Sanzo-ikkou set foot westwards, and now, three years later, their journey ran East, towards the Rising Sun.

* * *

"Class dismissed," Ryurei told her students for the day. Ever since they had returned from Tenjiku, she had applied for the job as a kenjutsu teacher, wearing a gold necklace as a limiter to hide her identity as a Goddess. Of course, the first thing that they did upon arriving in Changan was to have Sanzo officially marry her and Hakkai, much to Sanzo's chagrin. He had never participated in such things before, and it was not after many arguments and random hitting with his harisen did he agree to do it. There, she was widely known by the children as "Ryurei-nee", just like up there in Heaven, and was well-received by the townsfolk, just as Hakkai had been, who miraculously regained his teaching job. Rumors spread far and wide that Genjyo Sanzo, the Head of Keiun Temple and his band of "followers" had returned from a long mission to save Togenkyo, and all of them had been highly celebrated since then. Life, in short, was good.

"Ryurei-nee, Ryurei-nee!" a strange child's voice came bellowing through the Community Center's main hall, interrupting her silent recollections... Her usual group would have five children… where did the sixth come from? However, that Ki, it was very familiar to her… Before long, Hakkai came in with a boy, about four years of age, with silver hair, which looked as if it was almost white and red eyes, as well as partially-developed stumps on his head that peeked through his hair. This boy, he was no Youkai, despite his highly pointed ears, he was...

"Hakuryu!" she exclaimed once she recognized the child. He had finally gained his transformation! Oh, how adorable he was. There was no question at all; this boy was the last Dragon-child, through and through. He would live out his days as a God, and he would have to be trained like one, right away. "Look at you! You're practically a little man now!"

Just looking at his wife's face, Hakkai smiled just as brightly as she did. She and Gojun must have lived through their whole lives thinking that they were the last of their kind, and now, they had Hakuryu with them. "He transformed just this morning, and was already running around by noon," he informed her. "He gave Gojyo quite a fright too."

Ryurei smiled, and carried Hakuryu in her arms. It took a little more effort now. He was no longer the slinky little dragon that could easily stand upright on her head when he wanted to. "You must be very pleased with yourself, child," she told the boy. "I did not transform until I was eighty!"

"Is that a long time, Ryurei-nee?" Hakuryu asked, causing her to laugh even more. He never got it, but he knew that ever since he knew Ryurei, she never stopped laughing. She laughed when Sanzo started scolding everyone in sight, and she laughed when Gojyo cursed loudly every time she won in poker or mahjong. In his eyes, if he had to describe her in a single word, it would be "laughter".

"Yes, child," she replied, "it is a long time." She remembered when she had first transformed, she was so happy that she could wear all the pretty dresses her mother wore, but more importantly, she could be in training with her brother. Gojun was several hundred years older than she was, but he loved her dearly, and would always help her when their father would teach them the way of the sword. This child, she would teach him to be a true Dragon, to serve all that needed him, to live and die by the sword, and most of all, to be free.

That night, Hakkai and Ryurei sat on the roof of their house, while Hakuryu and Gojyo were playing outside. Apparently, Hakuryu was getting "payback" from Gojyo, who kept burning him with his cigarettes, and demanded that the latter receive the same treatment. "Karma burns," Hakkai shouted down to Gojyo, when Hakuryu succeeded in his self-imposed task by breathing fire.

Ryurei looked at her husband incredulously, and scolded him. "Hakkai, I am trying to raise an honorable warrior here, if you don't mind!" she exclaimed, swatting him in the arm. "Sanzo is right, you have an incredibly morbid personality."

He chuckled and tipped her chin. "Hmmm, and look whose wife you are now, Ryurei-hime," he told her, with his eerily cheerful tone of voice. He kissed her lightly, before the two boys of their home saw them. When their kiss broke, Ryurei rested her head on Hakkai's shoulder, as she always would… For five hundred years she had dreamt of this to happen, never in her life that she would even imagine that this was all real: Hakkai by her side, a simple life teaching kenjutsu, and a little Dragon-child too.

"Things could not be better," she said with a smile.

* * *

However, every mortal being had to die, no matter what. Ryurei the Dragon-Princess of the Western Oceans, who served Heaven as the Flower Goddess and the Toushin Taishi had chose the path of mortality, and one day, her death would surely come…

It was a silent affair, but the people of Changan would never forget that day. That very same year had been the fiftieth anniversary of the halting of Gyumaoh's revival experiments, and even the Maoh came to Changan to witness the funeral of Ryurei-hime and Cho Hakkai, who were venerated like great heroes as they deserved.

"They died in their sleep, the poor things," one elderly woman told her friend as the funeral procession passed by the Community Center where Ryurei had once taught kenjutsu. "And a friend told me, that she and Hakkai-san's hands were joined."

The other woman wiped a tear and said, "I remember that they used to have the greatest of romances, remember the time when he had candles arranged in the word, 'love' for her in their anniversary?"

"Oh, yes! High-Marshal Hakuryu was there to help him lit the candles too!" sounded a third woman.

Hakuryu, although still considered to be a juvenile Dragon, had been selected into the Joined Armies in a formal event where warriors from all Togenkyo would meet to showcase their skills in a challenge organized by the Maoh and the Order of Sanzo Priests. The winner of the challenge would be absorbed into the military, and Hakuryu had been undefeated ever since he first joined. There were rumors that the young man was divine in one manner or the other, because he was almost fifty and looked no older than his late teens, even Youkai did not age that slowly.

"Ryurei-sama and Hakkai loved you greatly, Hakuryu," Kougaiji said to Hakuryu as their caskets were cremated in Keiun Temple, the chanting of sutras led by the now-old Genjyo Sanzo. "You must always remember what they had taught you."

Gojyo hobbled up to the two of them, his Shakujou now no more than a walking-stick. "Heh, the two of them had it easy," he said, looking at the flames. "Always told her that I would outlive her even if I smoked…" People did not change easily; it was what he had told Sanzo a long, long time ago, and it was what he stood by, even that day.

"Na, Hakuryu, you don't have to worry," Goku said, trying not to look down. He was no longer the runt of their strange circle of friends, and towered above all of them already, measuring about six feet and six inches, and curiously, his appetite lessened, but only a little. "We're all here for you."

Hakuryu looked at the burning flame that was sending Ryurei and Hakkai to Heaven, and nodded. "I won't let them down," he told all his surrogate uncles. "One day, I'll make them so proud, that Heaven has to come down and hire me."

"That's the spirit, boy," Sanzo exclaimed when the last rites had been completed. "And you better make sure that it happens, or the two of them will give me hell if you don't." He really did not want the spirits of Hakkai and Ryurei coming down to put all the blame on him. It would be highly annoying trying to exorcise them.

* * *

Time, it passes slowly at times, but when it wants to, it goes faster than a bullet. After Ryurei and Hakkai died, death claimed the heroes of Togenkyo one by one. Gojyo had died of lung cancer just three years after they did, while Sanzo of old age about a decade later. Kougaiji had been the longest living, at 100 years of age, just enough to hand his power over to the first elected Maoh, leaving Yaone, his Queen, and his son, a Summoner just as he had been, rumored to be even more powerful than his father. In the end, only Goku and Hakuryu were alive. They could not die by natural means, Goku was the Seiten Taisei, born of Heaven and Earth, while Hakuryu, he was a Dragon-god.

A hundred more years passed, two hundred, three hundred, and even after four hundred years, Humans and Youkai were still talking to each other of how the brave Sanzo-ikkou and Prince Kougaiji triumphed over Gyokumen Koshu and Nii Jienyi to bring peace to Togenkyo.

"Well, Goku, it's just the two of us," Hakuryu said, taking a big gulp of wine. Just like Ryurei, he had highly discriminating tastes when it came to alcohol. The cheap stuff did not agree with him. "Just like the past four hundred years."

Putting down his chopsticks, Goku nodded. "You know, I can still hear them, sometimes. Ryurei would always shout back at Sanzo whenever he beats us with his harisen…" Those were fun memories back then. It did not do anyone any good to dwell on the dead, but heck, who was stopping him?

"If you miss them so much, why don't the two of them seek them out?" a female voice interrupted them. Goku would never forget that woman who had just appeared opposite him at the table. Those sheer silks that provided no cover at all, that black hair and the chakra… This was Kanzeon Bosatsu, the woman who had saved Sanzo once before. "If you had a chance to do so, would you?"

If there was anything that Ryurei had taught Hakuryu, it was not to trust anyone with a chakra and was not a Sanzo. The Gods were tricky, and they loved to see mortals suffer within reasonable means. "What do you want?" he asked her, his voice filled with caution.

Kanzeon Bosatsu looked at Hakuryu and said, "Watch your tone with me, boy, or your race will be truly extinct." After pretending to check her perfectly-manicured nails for a moment, she turned towards Goku and Hakuryu and said, "Heaven has decided that your exile in the mortal world has been long enough, Son Goku. A thousand years is long enough to make Heaven forget even the worst of crimes, and you, Hakuryu… As you know, Dragons that are able to transfigure into other forms are immortal, and live in Heaven as Gods. More importantly, the Heavenly Army knows of your military talents, and wish to recruit your services indefinitely… There has been a vacancy in the Western Army for the post of 'Gensui', or Field Marshal."

Even then, Hakuryu was still cautious. "I thought Hakkai was the Field Marshal," he told the Goddess of Mercy. He had never forgotten the tales that Ryurei and Hakkai had told him. One of them, concerned Hakkai's duties as the Field Marshal of Heaven's Western Army in his past life.

"Well, Cho Hakkai of the Western Army has been promoted; he is now the commander of the Northern Army, which serves directly under the Emperor-elect, Gojun, the Dragon-King." So, the Emperor of Heaven was now an elected post… Hakuryu and Goku looked at one another, there was no more reason to think about it, actually. The answer was already in their hearts.

"Oh, and Son Goku, before I forget, you are to replace Ryurei as the new Toushin Taishi, just for formality's sake and whatnot," Kanzeon Bosatsu added with a yawn. "Come on, I don't have all day, you know?"

Goku and Hakuryu took Kanzeon Bosatsu's hands, and before they knew it, they were greeted by hundreds and thousands of Heavenly soldiers, all kneeling before them. Right in front of them, were four figures that they had always known, their faces as youthful as ever, as powerful as they had always been, perhaps even more, with the setting sun and the reconstructed Gate of Heaven behind them.

"Goku, Hakuryu, welcome home," Ryurei's voice called softly, followed by Hakkai's smile.

"Heh, finally," Gojyo added. "Do you know how bored we were up here?"

"You're late, baka-saru!" Sanzo scolded, "And you too, you useless chibi-Dragon!"

Never before has the Toushin Taishi and the Field Marshal of the Western Army been welcomed with a loud hit with a harisen, but there always had to be a first. Yep, there just had to.

* * *

HAN: Oh my God, it is done! YESH! WOOHOOO! Now I can study in peace! ^.^ I hope you enjoyed this fic as much I did writing it! My thanks go out to all those that reviewed and read this lil ficcie, I would have just abandoned it if you hadn't showed your support. Its my first Saiyuki fic, too! And if Kougaiji's scene looks and feels like Aragorn's coronation scene in Return of the King, I designed it that way, hahaha. I'm a LOTR fan, too! ^.^ Whew, 4k words, the longest I've ever written for one chapter, too!

Playlist:

Bro-mance scene: Stone Roses, Weiss Kruz Gluhen

Kougaiji's coronation: Return of the King, Return of the King OST.

Ryurei and Hakkai's funeral: 我用所有报答爱, 张靓颖 (I use all to repay love, Jane Zhang)

Reunion scene: This is Home, Switchfoot, or Broken, Lifehouse.


End file.
